TLDR:
Founders Fund and Sands Capital have led a $1.5 billion fundraising round for Anduril Industries, a defense technology start-up, valuing the company at $14 billion. The funds will be used to accelerate the production of autonomous weapons for the US military and its allies.
Summary:
Anduril Industries, a defense technology start-up based in California, has raised $1.5 billion in a fundraising round led by Founders Fund and Sands Capital, among other participants. This fundraising values the company at $14 billion. The funds raised will be used to accelerate the production of autonomous weapons for the US military and its allies.
Anduril plans to use the proceeds to build new manufacturing facilities to mass-produce “tens of thousands of autonomous weapons systems” to meet the urgent needs of the United States and its allies. The company has allocated “hundreds of millions” of dollars to develop its first factory, Arsenal-1, in the US, with a possibility of constructing a second facility overseas.
Venture investment in defense tech has doubled to $33 billion between 2019 and 2023, despite a broader downturn in venture funding. The ongoing conflict in Ukraine has led to a surge in investment in defense technology.
