Anduril raises funding at $30.5 billion valuation in round led by Founders Fund, chairman says

Anduril Industries, a defense technology startup, has successfully raised $2.5 billion, bringing its valuation to an impressive $30.5 billion, as confirmed by Chairman Trae Stephens on Thursday. Speaking at Bloomberg TV's tech summit in San Francisco, Stephens emphasized the necessity of strengthening the company’s financial position to tackle critical manufacturing and production challenges for the national security sector. This new funding follows reports from February regarding the company’s acquisition of Microsoft’s augmented reality headset program for the U.S. Army. Additionally, last week, Anduril revealed a collaboration with Meta to develop virtual and augmented reality devices tailored for military use. This latest funding round, which has doubled the company's valuation since August, was spearheaded by Founders Fund, founded by Peter Thiel, who contributed $1 billion—the largest investment ever made by the firm. Since its inception in 2017 by Oculus founder Palmer Luckey, Anduril has aimed to disrupt the defense contracting landscape, dominated by giants like Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman. The company has been recognized on the CNBC Disruptor 50 list three times, ranking second last year. Stephens also highlighted the importance of the recent partnership with Meta, noting Luckey’s return to his roots and the reconciliation with the Meta team. In April, Founders Fund closed a $4.6 billion late-stage venture fund, with significant contributions from its general partners, including Stephens. As one of the highest-valued private tech companies in the U.S., Anduril has attracted considerable venture capital during a time of limited IPOs and significant exits. Though there are signs of recovery in the IPO market, Stephens stated that Anduril is not currently pursuing that route. He expressed optimism about the company’s potential for public trading in the future but made it clear that their immediate focus remains on their core mission.