Anduril Doubles to $61B Valuation—Defense Tech Is Having Its Moment
Anduril raised $5B in a Series H led by Thrive Capital and a16z, doubling its valuation to $61B. Defense tech startups are on track for $13.6B in 2026 funding.
In Brief
- Anduril raised $5 billion in a Series H round led by Thrive Capital and Andreessen Horowitz, doubling its valuation to $61 billion from $30.5 billion less than a year ago
- The company generated $2.2 billion in revenue in 2025, more than doubling year-over-year, and recently signed a $20 billion Army contract and joined the $185 billion Golden Dome missile defense program
- Defense tech startups have raised nearly $13.6 billion through mid-May 2026, on track to more than double the record $8.8 billion raised in all of 2025
Palmer Luckey’s defense technology company Anduril has raised $5 billion in a Series H round that doubles its valuation to $61 billion, making it one of the most valuable private companies in the world and the undisputed heavyweight of the defense tech sector. The round was co-led by Thrive Capital and Andreessen Horowitz, with Founders Fund and Lux Capital also participating.
The raise comes less than a year after Anduril’s Series G round closed at $2.5 billion against a $30.5 billion valuation in June 2025. That earlier round more than doubled the company’s previous $14 billion valuation. The velocity is remarkable: $14 billion to $30.5 billion to $61 billion in roughly two years.
CEO Brian Schimpf said in a statement that the company will aggressively invest in manufacturing, research, and infrastructure to scale defense systems for the U.S. and its allies. The company generated $2.2 billion in revenue in 2025, more than doubling year-over-year, according to Defense Daily. Total funding to date now stands at $11.4 billion per Crunchbase.
The Contracts Behind the Valuation
The valuation is not speculative. Anduril has stacked a series of massive government contracts that provide real revenue visibility. In March, the company signed a $20 billion, 10-year contract with the U.S. Army to supply software and weapons. That same month, Anduril announced it was part of a group of companies building the $185 billion Golden Dome missile defense system — one of the most ambitious defense programs in U.S. history.
On the same day as the funding announcement, the Department of Defense revealed an agreement with Anduril, CoAspire, Leidos, and Zone 5 to produce more than 10,000 low-cost hypersonic missiles over the next three years. Anduril also recently acquired a space missile and satellite tracking company, expanding its portfolio beyond drones and sensors into orbital defense.
The contract pipeline explains why investors are willing to assign a $61 billion valuation to a company with $2.2 billion in annual revenue — roughly a 28x revenue multiple. The implied bet is that the revenue trajectory steepens dramatically as the Army contract and Golden Dome program ramp up production.
Defense Tech’s Breakout Year
Anduril is not an isolated case. The entire defense tech sector is experiencing a funding bonanza that would have been unthinkable five years ago. Per Crunchbase data, defense-related startups — military, national security, and law enforcement — have raised nearly $13.6 billion through mid-May 2026. That puts the sector on track to more than double the already record-breaking $8.8 billion raised in all of 2025.
The funding surge extends across the sector. Shield AI, which develops AI pilots and autonomous aircraft systems, secured $2 billion in March led by Advent International and JPMorgan Chase, bringing its total to more than $3.5 billion. Saronic, an Austin-based builder of unmanned surface vessels for naval use, raised $1.75 billion in a Series D led by Kleiner Perkins. True Anomaly, a space security company, raised $600 million. Helsing in Europe reached an $18 billion valuation on the back of a drone contract with the German military.
This is not a normal funding cycle. The Trump administration’s push to modernize the U.S. military — and the parallel European rearmament driven by the war in Ukraine — has created a demand environment that traditional defense contractors cannot service quickly enough. The prime contractors (Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, RTX) move on multi-decade procurement cycles. Startups like Anduril and Shield AI promise speed, software-defined systems, and autonomous platforms that can be iterated on faster than a traditional program of record.
The IPO Question
Palmer Luckey told CNBC last year that he would definitely take Anduril public. The question is when — and at what price. At $61 billion, Anduril would be the most valuable defense tech IPO in history, and one of the largest tech IPOs of any kind in recent years.
The comparison to traditional defense primes is instructive. Anduril’s $61 billion valuation exceeds the market capitalization of several mid-tier defense contractors, despite generating a fraction of their revenue. The premium reflects growth expectations — but also something more fundamental: the market is pricing in a structural shift in how the Pentagon buys technology.
The U.S. government’s increasing focus on AI and autonomous systems for national security, combined with the Anthropic contract dispute that saw the Pentagon cancel AI contracts and Defense Secretary Hegseth threaten supply-chain-risk designations, creates a paradoxical environment for defense tech. The companies that win are those that align fully with government priorities — and Anduril has positioned itself squarely on that side. Luckey publicly supported the government’s stance against Anthropic, writing that you have to believe that our imperfect constitutional republic is still good enough to run a country without outsourcing the real levers of power to billionaires and corpos and their shadow advisors.
Historical Pattern — the SpaceX Parallel
There is a historical parallel worth noting. SpaceX in its early years faced similar skepticism about whether a startup could compete with established aerospace primes for government contracts. The company’s valuation trajectory — from roughly $10 billion in 2015 to over $200 billion by 2025 — was driven by the same dynamic Anduril is riding now: a government customer frustrated with incumbent speed and willing to place big bets on agile alternatives.
The difference is that SpaceX built a near-monopoly on launch capacity. Anduril operates in a more competitive market — Shield AI, Saronic, and a wave of AI infrastructure companies are all chasing the same Pentagon budget. But the scale of the budget itself is unprecedented. The $185 billion Golden Dome program alone is larger than the annual GDP of some of the countries it is designed to protect against.
FAQ
How much did Anduril raise?
Anduril raised $5 billion in a Series H funding round, bringing its total funding to $11.4 billion. The round was co-led by Thrive Capital and Andreessen Horowitz, with Founders Fund and Lux Capital also participating.
What is Anduril’s valuation?
The Series H round values Anduril at $61 billion, double its previous valuation of $30.5 billion from June 2025. The company’s valuation has roughly quadrupled from $14 billion over the past two years.
What contracts does Anduril have?
Anduril signed a $20 billion, 10-year contract with the U.S. Army in March 2026 to supply software and weapons. It is part of the $185 billion Golden Dome missile defense program and was selected to help produce more than 10,000 low-cost hypersonic missiles over three years.
Will Anduril go public?
Founder Palmer Luckey told CNBC last year he would definitely take the company public. The $61 billion valuation positions Anduril for what would be the largest defense tech IPO in history, though no timeline has been announced.
How much funding is flowing into defense tech?
Defense tech startups raised nearly $13.6 billion through mid-May 2026, on track to more than double the record $8.8 billion raised in all of 2025. The sector’s growth is driven by U.S. military modernization under the Trump administration and European rearmament following the war in Ukraine.
