Sector Snapshot: Defense Startup Funding Hits An All-Time Record As VCs Begin To Eye Exits

A decade ago, defense tech was considered a niche, even controversial corner of venture capital, with few startup investors daring to place bets on companies working with the military.

How times have changed. Already this year, more than $14.6 billion in venture investment has gone into companies in Crunchbase鈥檚 military, national security and law enforcement categories, blowing past the sector’s previous annual record of $9.6 billion raised in all of 2025.

Investors have poured billions into startups developing AI-powered military systems, autonomous vehicles, defense software and space technologies, and they’re writing increasingly large checks to do it, Crunchbase data shows.

Funding growth accelerates

The defense tech sector’s rise has been years in the making

Global defense tech funding totaled $1.6 billion in 2020 before climbing to $3.9 billion in 2021, Crunchbase data shows. Funding then remained relatively steady between roughly $2.8 billion and $3.8 billion from 2022 through 2024.

That changed dramatically last year, when funding jumped to a record $9.6 billion. Now, five months into 2026, startups in the sector have already eclipsed the full-year record set in 2025.

Deal flow has stayed steadier, mirroring a broader trend of venture capital concentration. So far this year, defense tech startups have announced 107 venture rounds, Crunchbase data shows, putting 2026鈥檚 pace slightly ahead of the 206 deals done in 2025.

Megarounds lead the way

The biggest contributor to this year’s funding surge, by far, is .

The Costa Mesa, California-based company announced a $5 billion Series H last month, a deal that valued it at $30.5 billion and further cemented its status as the most valuable venture-backed defense startup in the world.

Still, it鈥檚 not the only defense- or military-related startup drawing large sums of funding. Many of this year’s biggest rounds involve companies building AI-enabled defense systems, autonomous aircraft and maritime vehicles, military software platforms and space infrastructure.

Case in point: a $300 million Series C round announced today for , an autonomous drones systems manufacturer. The round was led by and and values the Huntington Beach, California-based startup at $1.8 billion.

Autonomous aviation startup raised a $2 billion Series G round in March led by and, while , which makes unmanned surface vessels for naval and defense use, secured a $1.75 billion Series D led by later that month.

Space-related startups with defense applications have also been especially prominent among defense-tech bets this year. , and , rank among the largest defense-related funding recipients of 2026, highlighting continued investor interest in technologies with both commercial and national security applications.

Attention turns to exits

As funding totals climb, investors may begin looking toward exits. Already this year, one smaller defense-tech startup, AI drone company , went public, with shares soaring more than 500% in their first day of trading. They remain near the high end of their price range as of early June.

Anduril is now widely viewed as one of the most likely defense tech candidates to pursue an IPO in the coming years. A public offering by a company of its size would mark a significant milestone for the sector and provide a closely watched test of public-market appetite for next-generation defense contractors.

Other well-capitalized companies across defense, autonomy and space are also reaching a scale where public listings or major acquisitions become more plausible, with Crunchbase鈥檚 predictive intelligence tools forecasting that nearly four-dozen . Along with Anduril, they include True Anomaly, Shield AI, Sierra Space and .

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