All the funding deals in the defense tech market
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In our defense tech market deck, you will find everything you need to understand the market
The defense tech market is moving fast because governments, militaries, and investors are looking for faster ways to build mission-ready technology.
We conducted deep research and collected 68 funding deals in the defense tech market from 2024 to 2026.
We refresh this page very often so readers can follow new defense tech market funding deals as the market changes.
And if you want to better understand this new industry, you should get our beautiful slides covering the defense tech market.
Insights
- The defense tech market is no longer only about software. Large rounds went to ships, drones, satellites, aircraft, sensors, and battlefield power systems.
- The biggest defense tech market rounds came from companies building physical systems, especially Saronic Technologies, Anduril Industries, Shield AI, and True Anomaly.
- Autonomy is one of the clearest themes in the defense tech market, with funding for drones, unmanned ships, autonomous ground vehicles, and mission orchestration software.
- Space security became a major part of the defense tech market, with Apex, K2 Space, Shield Space, True Anomaly, and Inversion Space all raising capital.
- The defense tech market shows strong repeat funding. Several companies raised again within this period, including CHAOS Industries, Saronic Technologies, Onebrief, Overland AI, Scout AI, and Firestorm Labs.
- Counter-drone and air-defense startups are becoming more visible in the defense tech market as FPV drones and low-cost aerial threats reshape military planning.
- European defense tech market activity is growing, with Helsing, Quantum Systems, Frankenburg Technologies, Shotling, and Harmattan AI showing stronger regional investor interest.
- Mission software remains important in the defense tech market, but investors are increasingly backing software that directly controls, coordinates, or protects defense systems.
- The 2026 defense tech market list already includes very large rounds, which suggests that investor appetite stayed strong after the 2025 funding surge.
This chart, included in our defense tech market deck, shows annual VC investment in defense tech startups
Summary table of the funding deals for the defense tech market since 2024
We define the defense tech market as product and platform technologies built to deliver military or national-security mission capabilities and sold into defense, intelligence, or closely related national-security buyers.
We include autonomy/robotics, C2 and mission software, ISR and sensing, resilient communications, cyber capabilities, space security technologies, and other mission systems where defense or national-security is a primary go-to-market.
We exclude general government IT services, generic enterprise software/security with no mission focus, purely commercial aerospace/industrial tech without a defense go-to-market, and public-safety tools that are not primarily defense or national-security mission oriented.
We focused exclusively on pure players, defined as companies with at least 70–80% of their business directly tied to the defense tech market.
Our analysis has been done at a global level with a minimum funding threshold of $300k.
You can also read our detailed analysis to understand how funding activity in the defense tech market has evolved recently.
If you want a longer-term view, we also have a study of how funding activity in the defense tech market has changed over the years.
Also, you should know that we have a dedicated page, updated weekly, with all the latest fundraising deals in the defense tech market.
| Name | What they do | Amount in $ | Quarter | Source(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| True Anomaly | Builds autonomous satellites for orbital defense missions. | $650,000,000 | 2026 Q2 | Source |
| Scout AI | Builds AI software to coordinate unmanned military systems. | $100,000,000 | 2026 Q2 | Source |
| Firestorm Labs | Builds modular drones and deployable drone microfactories. | $82,000,000 | 2026 Q2 | Source |
| Rilian | Builds agentic AI tools for cyber and defense operations. | $17,500,000 | 2026 Q2 | Source |
| Fortem Technologies | Builds radar and drone interception systems for counter-UAS defense. | $25,000,000 | 2026 Q2 | Source |
| Hermeus | Builds high-Mach aircraft for national-security missions. | $200,000,000 | 2026 Q2 | Source |
| Saronic Technologies | Builds autonomous maritime vessels for U.S. and allied defense. | $1,750,000,000 | 2026 Q1 | Source |
| Shield AI | Builds autonomous military aircraft and autonomy software. | $1,500,000,000 | 2026 Q1 | Source |
| Performance Drone Works | Builds modular military drones and related defense systems. | $110,000,000 | 2026 Q1 | Source |
| Vanguard Defense | Organizes defense data used to train and operate AI models. | $5,000,000 | 2026 Q1 | Source |
| Smack Technologies | Builds frontier AI software for national-security decision support. | $32,000,000 | 2026 Q1 | Source |
| Chariot Defense | Builds smart battlefield power systems for contested environments. | $34,000,000 | 2026 Q1 | Source |
| Frankenburg Technologies | Builds affordable missile-defense systems for mass production. | $32,400,000 | 2026 Q1 | Source |
| Code Metal | Translates and verifies code for mission-critical defense systems. | $125,000,000 | 2026 Q1 | Source |
| Breaker | Builds software to orchestrate autonomous defense systems. | $6,000,000 | 2026 Q1 | Source |
| Tenna Systems | Builds spectrum intelligence software for electronic warfare. | $13,500,000 | 2026 Q1 | Source |
| Shotling | Builds short-range kinetic systems against FPV drones. | $760,000 | 2026 Q1 | Source |
| Shield Space | Builds technology to protect satellites from jamming and attacks. | $2,500,000 | 2026 Q1 | Source |
| Onebrief | Builds planning software for military command and operations. | $200,000,000 | 2026 Q1 | Source |
| Terra Industries | Builds autonomous defense and security systems. | $22,000,000 | 2026 Q1 | Source |
| Terra Industries | Builds autonomous defense systems and drones from Nigeria. | $11,750,000 | 2026 Q1 | Source |
| Harmattan AI | Builds autonomy software and mission systems for defense aircraft. | $200,000,000 | 2026 Q1 | Source |
| Valinor | Builds and owns defense product companies. | $54,000,000 | 2026 Q1 | Source |
| CHAOS Industries | Builds sensing networks for threat detection and defense systems. | $510,000,000 | 2025 Q4 | Source |
| Govini | Builds software for defense acquisition and supply-chain data. | $150,000,000 | 2025 Q4 | Source |
| Vermeer | Builds vision navigation and autonomy for defense systems. | $10,000,000 | 2025 Q4 | Source |
| Method Security | Builds cyber tools for defense attack-path mapping. | $26,000,000 | 2025 Q4 | Source |
| Auterion | Builds software for defense drones and unmanned systems. | $130,000,000 | 2025 Q3 | Source |
| Blue Water Autonomy | Builds autonomous unmanned ships for maritime security. | $50,000,000 | 2025 Q3 | Source |
| Helsing | Builds AI software and systems for European defense. | $648,000,000 | 2025 Q2 | Source |
| Anduril Industries | Builds autonomous systems, defense software, drones, and sensors. | $2,500,000,000 | 2025 Q2 | Source |
| Quantum Systems | Builds AI-powered aerial intelligence systems for defense. | $173,000,000 | 2025 Q2 | Source |
| Apex | Builds satellite buses for high-rate space missions. | $200,000,000 | 2025 Q2 | Source |
| Saildrone | Builds autonomous maritime systems for security and defense. | $60,000,000 | 2025 Q2 | Source |
| Sanlayan Technologies | Builds aerospace and defense electronics technologies. | $22,000,000 | 2025 Q2 | Source |
| CHAOS Industries | Builds radar and sensing systems for national security. | $275,000,000 | 2025 Q2 | Source |
| Onebrief | Builds military planning and staff collaboration software. | $20,000,000 | 2025 Q2 | Source |
| ConductorAI | Builds AI workflow software for government approvals. | $15,000,000 | 2025 Q2 | Source |
| Scout AI | Builds robotics AI models for defense autonomy. | $15,000,000 | 2025 Q2 | Source |
| Epirus | Builds directed-energy systems for counter-drone defense. | $250,000,000 | 2025 Q1 | Source |
| Shield AI | Builds autonomy software and aircraft for defense. | $240,000,000 | 2025 Q1 | Source |
| Saronic Technologies | Builds autonomous surface vessels for maritime defense. | $600,000,000 | 2025 Q1 | Source |
| K2 Space | Builds satellite platforms for national-security payloads. | $110,000,000 | 2025 Q1 | Source |
| Hidden Level | Builds passive radar systems for air-threat detection. | $65,000,000 | 2025 Q1 | Source |
| Onebrief | Builds military operational planning software. | $50,000,000 | 2025 Q1 | Source |
| Overland AI | Builds off-road autonomy for U.S. defense vehicles. | $32,000,000 | 2025 Q1 | Source |
| Inversion Space | Builds space cargo delivery for national-security logistics. | $44,000,000 | 2024 Q4 | Source |
| Vatn Systems | Builds autonomous underwater vehicles for allied militaries. | $13,000,000 | 2024 Q4 | Source |
| CHAOS Industries | Builds radar and sensing systems for threat detection. | $145,000,000 | 2024 Q4 | Source |
| Second Front Systems | Builds secure software delivery tools for defense teams. | $70,000,000 | 2024 Q3 | Source |
| Forterra | Builds self-driving ground systems for defense and industry. | $75,000,000 | 2024 Q3 | Source |
| Darkhive | Builds open-architecture drones and secure defense software. | $21,000,000 | 2024 Q3 | Source |
| Parry Labs | Builds open mission systems for tactical-edge defense. | $80,000,000 | 2024 Q3 | Source |
| DEFCON AI | Builds military logistics modeling and simulation software. | $44,000,000 | 2024 Q3 | Source |
| Anduril Industries | Builds autonomous defense systems, drones, sensors, and software. | $1,500,000,000 | 2024 Q3 | Source |
| Hidden Level | Builds passive radar systems for drone detection. | $35,000,000 | 2024 Q3 | Source |
| Saronic | Builds autonomous surface vessels for the U.S. Navy. | $175,000,000 | 2024 Q3 | Source |
| Helsing | Builds AI software for drones, aircraft, and defense decisions. | $487,000,000 | 2024 Q3 | Source |
| Avalor AI | Builds mission planning software for unmanned military systems. | $2,160,000 | 2024 Q3 | Source |
| Apex Space | Builds satellite buses for defense and space payloads. | $95,000,000 | 2024 Q2 | Source |
| Overland AI | Builds off-road autonomy software for defense missions. | $10,000,000 | 2024 Q2 | Source |
| Allen Control Systems | Builds counter-drone robotic gun systems for defense. | $12,000,000 | 2024 Q2 | Source |
| Zulu Defence Systems | Builds aerial systems for ISR, strike, and countermeasures. | $750,000 | 2024 Q2 | Source |
| Picogrid | Builds command-and-control connectivity for defense systems. | $12,000,000 | 2024 Q1 | Source |
| Firestorm Labs | Builds modular unmanned aerial systems for defense. | $12,500,000 | 2024 Q1 | Source |
| Defense Unicorns | Builds open-source software delivery tools for defense. | $35,000,000 | 2024 Q1 | Source |
This market map, featured in our defense tech market deck, highlights top companies and startups in the defense tech market
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