defense tech

Defense tech startup Epirus raises $250M Series D to counter drone swarms

Fundraising /

Defense tech startup Epirus, which specializes in anti-drone systems, has raised an oversubscribed $250 million Series D, it told TechCrunch. Epirus, based in Torrance, California, was previously valued at $1.35 billion for its $200 million Series C in 2022, per its announcement at the time. Epirus did not give a specific valuation for this round, […]

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Saronic raises $600M to mass produce autonomous warships

Startups /

Austin-based defense startup Saronic has raised a $600 million Series C to build an autonomous ship factory called “Port Alpha,” it announced yesterday, quadrupling its valuation to $4 billion from its last round.  Investor Elad Gil led the round, with General Catalyst joining existing investors Andreessen Horowitz, 8VC, and Caffeinated Capital, among others. That should

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Germany’s Helsing doubles down on drones for Ukraine, scales up manufacturing

Hardware /

Helsing, the German defense tech startup backed by Spotify’s Daniel Ek and others, is producing 6,000 HX-2 strike drones in addition to the 4,000 HF-1 strike drones financed by Germany that are currently being delivered to Ukraine. “We are scaling up production of HX-2 in response to additional orders from Ukraine,” Helsing co-founder Gundbert Scherf

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The Pentagon says AI is speeding up its ‘kill chain’

Government & Policy /

Leading AI developers, such as OpenAI and Anthropic, are threading a delicate needle to sell software to the United States military: make the Pentagon more efficient, without letting their AI kill people. Today, their tools are not being used as weapons, but AI is giving the Department of Defense a “significant advantage” in identifying, tracking,

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$5B livestream shopping apps, Nvidia reveals, and the weirdest tech at CES

AI /

“We put AI in this thing. Does it work? We’ll see.” That seemed to be the theme for some companies attending CES 2025, but looking beyond the experimental hype, there were also some significant (we think) developments and cool new products. Today on TechCrunch’s Equity podcast, hosts Kirsten Korosec, Margaux MacColl, Anthony Ha, and Max

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Defense startup Epirus in talks to raise over $150M, potentially cutting valuation 

Venture /

Defense tech startup Epirus is reportedly raising between $150 million and $200 million in a new funding round led by Joe Lonsdale’s venture firm 8VC, Bloomberg reports. The round could give the company, which develops technology to intercept drones, a valuation of about $1 billion. If that’s the final valuation, it would be a decrease

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Humba Ventures raises $40M fund to invest in deep tech, defense tech 

Venture /

Humba Ventures said today it has raised $40 million to invest in deep tech and defense tech startups. It is a sister-firm to Susa Ventures, the seed-stage firm that has backed companies like Robinhood, Human Interest and Flexport.  The fund comes at a time when defense tech is seeing venture investment reach record highs: Startups in

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