Anduril's $28 Billion Valuation: AI Defense Tech Startup Nears Massive Funding Round

Anduril in talks to raise money at $28 billion valuation as defense-tech booms

Anduril reportedly in talks to raise new funding round that could double valuation Anduril, the defense-tech startup founded by Palmer Luckey, has signed a term sheet to raise capital at a $28 billion valuation, according to people familiar with the matter. The company is planning to raise up to $2.5 billion in the round, said the people who asked not to be named because the details are confidential. The latest funding would double Anduril's valuation from August. Luckey, who sold virtual reality company Oculus to Facebook for $2 billion in 2014, has been a public supporter of Donald Trump since long before the president's return to the White House. "I've been on the tech-for-Trump train for longer than just about anyone," Luckey, who started the company in 2017, told CNBC's "Closing Bell Overtime" on Nov. 6, right after Trump's election victory. "The idea that we need to be the strongest military in the world is really non-partisan." In December, Anduril announced a partnership with artificial intelligence startup OpenAI, allowing the defense tech company to deploy advanced AI systems for "national security missions." It's part of a broader and controversial trend of AI companies walking back bans on military use of their products and entering into partnerships with defense companies and the U.S. Department of Defense. In December, Anthropic and Palantir announced a partnership with Amazon Web Services to "provide U.S. intelligence and defense agencies access" to Anthropic's AI models. While Anduril is still privately held, Palantir, which sells software and services to defense agencies, is publicly traded and has been one of the best performers on the stock market in the past year, jumping 370% over that stretch, lifting its market cap past $250 billion. The company reported in its latest earnings report this week that government revenue jumped 45% from a year earlier to $343 million. Peter Thiel's Founders Fund is leading the latest Anduril financing, with a $1 billion commitment, sources said, the largest check ever for the firm. Thiel, who was a major Trump supporter in the 2016 campaign, is one of Palantir's co-founders. Trae Stephens, a partner at Founders Fund, is an Anduril co-founder. Anduril's revenue in 2024 doubled to about $1 billion and annual contract value reached $1.5 billion, the people said. In 2023, Anduril launched several new drones that rely on its Lattice AI-powered command and control software used by the U.S. military and allies to direct human-assisted robotics systems to perform complex missions.

A.I. Military Start-Up Anduril Close to Deal That Would Value Company at $28 Billion

Sign up for the On Tech newsletter. Get our best tech reporting from the week. Get it sent to your inbox. Anduril, an artificial intelligence military start-up, is set to complete a new round of funding that will double the value of the company to $28 billion, according to four people familiar with the negotiations. The funding round, which is led by Peter Thiel's Founders Fund and has not yet closed, is raising up to $2.5 billion, the people said. Founders Fund alone plans to invest $1 billion, the largest check ever written by the firm, two of the people said. Anduril designs and builds autonomous systems and weapons for the military and other government agencies, including flying drones, missiles, underwater vessels and surveillance equipment for monitoring both national borders and the battlefield. It one of a new wave of companies building systems based on A.I. technologies for the government. Mr. Thiel has backed Anduril since its start in 2017, and one of Anduril's co-founders, Trae Stephens, is a partner at the Founders Fund. Six months ago, Anduril raised $1.5 billion at a $14 billion valuation. Founders Fund declined to comment. CNBC first reported details of the funding talks. The latest influx of cash comes as defense technology start-ups are ebullient about their prospects. Enthusiasm for building technology for the U.S. government has grown in recent years in Silicon Valley, a reversal from more than a decade of shying away from those contracts. As recently as 2018, thousands of employees at Google signed a letter protesting the company's military contracts. That resistance has slowly shifted, as more venture capital firms pour money into the sector. President Trump is anticipated to turbocharge investments further. Palmer Luckey, Anduril's founder, has supported President Trump since his 2016 campaign. He donated to President Trump's campaign in the 2016, 2020 and 2024 elections, and has hosted fund-raisers. On the night of the presidential election in November, Mr. Luckey posted a meme celebrating Mr. Trump's victory. Elon Musk, the tech executive and a close adviser to the president, responded, saying it was "very important to open DoD/Intel to entrepreneurial companies like yours." In January, Mr. Luckey and Anduril announced plans to build a $1 billion factory in Ohio that they said would eventually produce tens of thousands of autonomous systems and weapons each year.