Anduril, the defense-tech startup founded by Palmer Luckey, has signed a term sheet to boost capital at a $28 billion valuation, based on people acquainted with the matter.
The corporate is planning to boost as much as $2.5 billion within the round, said the individuals who asked to not be named because the small print are confidential. The newest funding would double Anduril’s valuation from August.
Anduril, the three-time CNBC Disruptor 50 company that ranked No. 2 in 2024, goals to disrupt traditional defense contractors like Lockheed Martin, Raytheon and Northrop Grumman by developing its own products and selling them to clients, in contrast to the standard military technique of contracting after which constructing.
An Anduril spokesperson declined to comment.
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 have been on the tech-for-Trump train for longer than simply about anyone,” Luckey, who began the corporate in 2017, told CNBC’s “Closing Bell Additional time” on Nov. 6, right after Trump’s election victory. “The concept we must be the strongest military on the earth is de facto 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 a part of a broader and controversial trend of AI firms walking back bans on military use of their products and getting into partnerships with defense firms 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 remains to be privately held, Palantir, which sells software and services to defense agencies, is publicly traded and has been top-of-the-line performers on the stock market prior to now 12 months, jumping 370% over that stretch, lifting its market cap past $250 billion. The corporate reported in its latest earnings report this week that government revenue jumped 45% from a 12 months earlier to $343 million.
Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund is leading the most recent Anduril financing, with a $1 billion commitment, sources said, the most important check ever for the firm. Thiel, who was a significant Trump supporter within the 2016 campaign, is one among 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 latest drones that depend on its Lattice AI-powered command and control software utilized by the U.S. military and allies to direct human-assisted robotics systems to perform complex missions.Â
WATCH: Anduril co-founder Palmer Luckey talks what a Trump White House means for defense tech
