defense tech

Joby Aviation and defense contractor L3Harris to test autonomous hybrid aircraft

Transportation /

Joby Aviation is often cast as a developer of commercial electric air taxis, but the publicly traded company has also pursued a separate track to market through a long-standing relationship with the U.S. Department of Defense. Now, its years of research and development with the Department of Defense may be paying off. The company on […]

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This founder left Silicon Valley to challenge U.S. defense supremacy from Athens, and investors are paying attention

Fundraising /

In the summer of 2021, Dimitrious Kottas made a move that would be unfathomable to most Silicon Valley engineers: after leaving his coveted position at Apple’s Special Projects Group, he packed up his life in California and moved back to Athens to start a defense company. Three and a half years later, his startup, Delian

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Amid increased momentum for defense, the NATO Innovation Fund refreshes its investment team

Venture /

Two years after securing $1 billion in commitments from over 20 countries, the NATO Innovation Fund (NIF) is entering a new chapter, marked by the arrival of two new partners and the departure of its penultimate founding team partner. In a context of increased military spending across NATO members, investment in dual-use technology has skyrocketed

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Anduril alums raise $24M Series A to bring military logistics out of the Excel spreadsheet era

AI /

Silicon Valley is doubling down on defense as geopolitical tensions rise and appetite for modernizing warfare grows. And while many of the startups garnering large valuations are focused on hardware and weaponry — think Anduril, Shield AI, and Skydio — Rune Technologies wants to tackle AI-enabled software for military logistics.  “The U.S. military runs on

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European VC breaks taboo by investing in pure defense tech from Ukraine’s war zones

Venture /

Defense tech has gone from a no-go zone for VCs to a hot investment sector. However, dual use — meaning that the technology must also have civilian applications — is still a requirement for most of them, including the NATO Innovation Fund.  Estonian VC firm Darkstar breaks from this trend by sometimes investing in purely

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Two-year-old defense tech Mach Industries confirms $100M raise led by Khosla, Bedrock 

Startups /

Rising-star defense tech Mach Industries has announced a new $100 million round of funding at a $470 million valuation. TechCrunch first reported that this deal was in the works last month. New investor Keith Rabois from Khosla Ventures joins existing investor Geoff Lewis of Bedrock Capital to lead the round. Existing investor Sequoia also participated.

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Spotify’s Daniel Ek just bet bigger on Helsing, Europe’s defense tech darling

Venture /

When Daniel Ek isn’t busy running Spotify or building his new AI-driven health tech enterprise, he’s making massive bets on the future of European warfare, seemingly. The billionaire, who primarily lives in Stockholm, just led a €600 million investment in Helsing, a four-year-old, Munich-based defense tech company that is now valued at €12 billion, according

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Anduril raises $2.5B at $30.5B valuation led by Founders Fund

Startups /

Founders Fund has led another, enormous round for defense tech startup Anduril with a $1 billion investment as part of a new $2.5 billion raise, the largest check the firm has ever written. Existing investors also piled in, an Anduril spokesperson tells TechCrunch. Anduril has now doubled its valuation to $30.5 billion with this series

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Space Forge raises $30M Series A to make chip materials in space

Fundraising /

From AI to EVs, demand for semiconductors is exploding, but silicon is hitting its limits. Making more efficient chips requires new materials, ones far less ubiquitous than sand, but the solution might be out there — literally. Space Forge, a U.K. startup headquartered in Cardiff, Wales, recently raised a £22.6 million (approximately $30 million) Series A

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In a victory for Palmer Luckey, Meta and Anduril work on mixed reality headsets for the military

Hardware /

On Thursday, Anduril and Meta announced news that feels like a fairy tale ending for Anduril co-founder, Palmer Luckey. The two companies are working together to build extended reality (XR) devices for the U.S. military, Anduril announced in a blog post. “I am glad to be working with Meta once again,” Luckey is quoted as

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