Anduril Discusses New Funding at $60 Billion-Plus Valuation
The Takeaway
- Defense tech startup Anduril in talks for funding at $60 billion-plus valuation.
- Funding will support a new weapons factory and autonomous fighter jet development.
- Anduril’s revenue was expected to double to $2 billion last year amid high cash burn.
Defense tech startup Anduril is in talks to raise billions in new funding at a valuation of at least $60 billion including the new investment, according to a person with knowledge of the plans. The valuation would be roughly double the figure from its last private funding round in June.
The funding would give the company more leeway to fund its first major weapons manufacturing facility and the development of an autonomous fighter jet. It expected to double its revenue last year, to roughly $2 billion, from contracts with the Department of Defense and U.S. allies, but it is also burning cash.
The eight-year-old startup, founded by former Palantir employees as well as virtual reality entrepreneur Palmer Luckey, has already raised billions of dollars over the years to develop or buy more modern software, drones and submarines that can win over government buyers.
The company could further benefit from a shift in tone from the Trump administration toward more tech-leaning defense contractors, while it urges Anduril’s older, bigger rivals to curb stock buybacks and deliver weapons more quickly. Some of Anduril’s major backers have also been some of the Trump administration’s largest supporters in tech. Those include Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund, which has poured $2 billion into the company over the years, as well as Andreessen Horowitz and Joe Lonsdale’s 8VC.
Anduril CEO Brian Schimpf told The Information in October that it would double revenue last year. It also doubled revenue the year prior. Its latest slate of expansion is particularly expensive, as it builds out a major factory in Columbus, Ohio. The startup told investors last year it expected to burn between $800 million and $900 million last year.