Latest news with #Arsenal-1
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
With massive funding round and $31 billion valuation, Anduril is nearing the size of defense industry giants it wants to displace
Defense company Anduril, which builds autonomous drones, virtual reality headsets, and other AI-powered technologies for the U.S. military and its allies, said it had closed an oversubscribed $2.5 billion funding round on Thursday. The new funding round, which has more than doubled the company's valuation to $30.5 billion, was led by Peter Thiel's Founders Fund, which invested $1 billion in the round—the fund's largest check ever, according to the firm. The fundraise marks an important milestone for the defense tech industry, which has swelled in size as the Department of Defense embraces venture capital-funded startups in an effort to supply its forces with the latest, cutting-edge technologies as global tensions rise. With the new valuation, Anduril is one of the 13 most valuable private companies in the world, according to CB Insights, and it is starting to approach the market value of some of the established defense contractors that have dominated the industry for decades—known within the defense industry as the 'primes.' Anduril's valuation is now approaching half that of Northrop Grumman and General Dynamics, two of America's longest-standing contractors for the Department of Defense. Anduril—started in 2017 by a group of Silicon Valley vets that include Oculus founder Palmer Luckey and Founders Fund's Trae Stephens—was one of the first defense tech startups in Silicon Valley. Its founders sought to disrupt the traditional model of defense by privatizing the innovation process via self-funding new technologies, then selling to the government, rather than relying on tax-payer dollars for the research and development. As geopolitical tensions have grown around the globe, there has been renewed vigor to bolster the U.S. Navy, Army, and Air Force's equipment and fleets. In the last few years, Anduril has been awarded a number of highly-competitive contracts for the U.S. military, including a program with General Atomics to build up to $9 billion worth of autonomous unmanned aircraft, as well as a 10-year, $642.2 million contract with the U.S. Navy to build counter-drone systems. Earlier this year, Anduril took over Microsoft's augmented reality headset project, worth up to $22 billion, that will deliver some 120,000 headsets to the U.S. Army. Anduril said it had doubled its revenue in 2024 to $1 billion. Anduril has also looped other tech companies into the fold. Last week the company said it was partnering with Meta on a separate helmet and headset project. Anduril says it will use the new billions of capital for M&A, to scale up its Arsenal-1 manufacturing facility in Ohio, hire in the U.S., Australia and Europe, and invest in new product launches. Anduril, which had just raised $1.5 billion last summer at a $14 billioin valuation, has helped turn the defense tech industry into one of the hotter sectors in the venture capital industry. There was $3 billion invested in defense tech startups in 2024, according to Crunchbase, up 11% from the year prior. Sassie Duggleby, cofounder and CEO of reusable hypersonic technology company Venus Aerospace, said in an email that Anduril was 'revolutionizing the traditional defense contracting process' and that it was 'paving the way for emerging deep tech aerospace innovators like Venus.' This story was originally featured on Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Axios
01-04-2025
- Business
- Axios
The products of the future are being made right here in Ohio — here's why
Ohio has a rich legacy of manufacturing goods across the state — and as 2025 continues, major companies are beginning new projects in the Buckeye State. Here's why: Ohio's central location is one of its greatest assets for manufacturing companies. With easy access to 60% of the U.S. and Canadian populations, an Ohio location can keep a company's supply chain running quickly and smoothly. Ohio offers companies quick and easy access to shovel-ready sites throughout the state. Companies benefit from partnerships with Ohio's educational institutions and workforce development network including universities, technical centers and community colleges, creating a robust pipeline of skilled workers for manufacturing and technology roles. Why now: With supply chain disruption top of mind, C-suite manufacturing leaders value Ohio's strategic approach to reshoring vital technologies, including semiconductors, EVs and related technology, and other products. The proof: Ohio has the nation's third-largest manufacturing workforce with 687,353 jobs — 5.3% of the total national manufacturing workforce. Ohio's manufacturing GDP in 2023 was $131 billion, making it the fourth largest in the U.S. What you need to know: JobsOhio is a company's competitive advantage — the team is available as a resource to guide the long-term growth and success of next-generation manufacturers looking to locate or expand in the state. A nonprofit economic development corporation with its own private funding, JobsOhio can provide companies with financial assistance more quickly than publicly funded models. How it's done: The organization helps companies leverage the state's manufacturing expertise, innovation and workforce to make the products of the future. From site selection to workforce development, JobsOhio helps companies meet the needs of global manufacturers with its best-in-class business climate, superior workforce and vast manufacturing supply chain. Some examples: Since 2022, major companies have partnered with JobsOhio to grow operations in the state, including: Intel, which selected Ohio to manufacture semiconductors. Honda and LG Energy Solution, which came to the state to build next-generation battery technology for electric vehicles and other products. Joby Aviation, which selected Ohio to manufacture the electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) air taxis of the future. Plus, plus, plus: In January, Anduril Industries chose Ohio to build an advanced manufacturing facility — "Arsenal-1" — in Pickaway County to build cutting-edge military drones and other national defense products. The project will create 4,000+ new jobs over 10 years, making it the largest single-job creation project in Ohio's history. Arsenal-1 is projected to add nearly $1 billion to Ohio's GDP. In other words: JobsOhio's expert guidance and access positions Ohio as the premier state for a company's next major manufacturing project.
Axios
05-03-2025
- Business
- Axios
Where America's fragile defense production and futuristic megafactories meet
There are few words as beloved in the defense-tech zeitgeist as "scale" and "mass." And it makes sense: War is a numbers game. But today's defense industrial base is hurting, and not just by a single metric. Why it matters: It's go big or go home for production lines, as a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan haunts Beltway thinkers and a protracted war in Ukraine proves just how quickly stockpiles evaporate. Driving the news: The Ronald Reagan Institute's third annual National Security Innovation Base report card, published Tuesday, paints an uncomfortable picture. "While China, America's pacing challenger, continues to outproduce the United States, Washington remains stuck in a self-perpetuating cycle of budgetary and appropriations dysfunction that is threatening its advantage." But, it offers, "This trend is not immutable." Here are some of the study's findings: The U.S. blazes the innovation trail, earning an A- for leadership, a B+ for available cash and another B+ for the growing sense of competition. There were four consecutive quarters of defense-tech venture capital growth last year, from $4.4 billion to $14.7 billion. But the country struggles with modernization and capacity, with caches of "critical weapons" remaining "dangerously low." Both scored a D. Customer clarity — the coherence of conversation between buyer and seller — was slightly better at D+. International cooperation is middling at a C. The labyrinthine foreign military sales process is "interfering with core national security and foreign policy objectives." What they're saying: "I feel like there's this bias or mindset that hardware is not valuable, hardware is not sexy. 'Why can't we just outsource this stuff?' And that's kind of the problem we've been in," Paul Kwan, who leads General Catalyst's global resilience team, told Axios. "This reindustrialization of America is not just critical, but necessary." State of play: Defense contractors are erecting factories and expanding footprints. Others are inking their blueprints. The first products from Anduril Industries' Arsenal-1 are expected to roll off the lines next year. When the company picked Columbus, Ohio, as the location, there were still permitting, renovation and hiring hurdles to clear. Drone-boat maker Saronic wants to open the doors to its futuristic shipyard, Port Alpha, within five years. It still needs to find a location, secure incentives, put a shovel in the ground and attract a workforce. Helsing completed construction of its Resilience Factory, or RF-1, in southern Germany. It's expected to pump out more than 1,000 HX-2 attack drones per month. Saab plans to break ground for its Michigan munitions facility in April. It's expected to come online in 2026. The company also launched its Skapa initiative in San Diego. Bell Textron will support Future Long Range Assault Aircraft work with a recently selected 447,000-square-foot facility in Texas. The company won the FLRAA competition in late 2022. Kongsberg in September said it would build a state-of-the-art factory in Virginia, boosting capacity for Naval Strike and Joint Strike missiles. Our thought bubble: You can't build the future with tools of the past. Automation, robotics, and 3D printing are table stakes. And if you want a great example of spinning up quickly, look no further than Ukraine. Pressure breeds innovation. (The country is on track to build some 3 million military drones this year, according to the Kyiv Post.) The bottom line: "We cannot fight wars unless our troops have the ammunition they need," Vice President JD Vance said Tuesday as he backed a Defense Department nominee on the Hill. "We cannot defend our own national security unless we have the tank shells, the artillery shells, and, increasingly, the drones and other advanced weapon systems that are necessary to actually fight battles when — God forbid — those battles are necessary to fight."
Yahoo
27-01-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Anduril wins nearly $500 million in state tax breaks to construct Ohio weapons factory
The state approved tax breaks approaching half a billion dollars Monday for a California defense contractor that plans to build a weapons factory in Pickaway County. The company, Anduril Industries, will receive tax credits for 30 years worth up to $452 million, according to terms unanimously approved by the Ohio Tax Credit Authority. The ultimate value of the tax breaks depends on the number of jobs and size of the payroll created. "This is a great project," said Susan Restrepo, chief investment officer for the Ohio Department of Development. "It's very exciting, not just for central Ohio but for the entire state." More: How did the defense contractor Anduril decide to build a massive weapons factory in Ohio? Anduril announced two weeks ago that it plans to spend about $900 million on the complex south of Rickenbacker International Airport to build drones, missiles and other high-tech unpiloted military weapons. The company plans to initially retrofit an existing 700,000-square-foot building with the goal of starting production by the middle of 2026. That investment would be followed by a new complex that could grow as large as 5 million square feet on 500 acres. When completed, estimated in 2035, the complex would employ 4,008 workers with an average hourly wage of $63.61, making the average annual pay $132,000. Dubbed "Arsenal-1," the factory would be the largest job-creation project in Ohio history, according to state officials. "Anduril is not only revolutionizing America's defense industry, but it's joining the wave of coastal companies expanding to Ohio and bringing thousands of jobs and millions of dollars in capital investment," Gov. Mike DeWine said in a Monday news release about the tax breaks. What is Anduril?What to know about the defense tech company bringing 4,000 jobs to Ohio The tax credit, scheduled to run from 2026 to 2055, is the first of what is expected to be several incentives for the project. Anduril will also receive grants and other incentives from the state economic development corporation JobsOhio. In addition, Pickaway County plans to request $70 million from the All Ohio Future Fund to help prepare the project's site. The tax credit authority on Monday approved a tax break for another Pickaway County project: a BJ's Wholesale Club distribution center in Commercial Point that is expected to employ 250 workers. The tax credit is worth an estimated $1.94 million. jweiker@ @JimWeiker This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Defense contractor Anduril receives Ohio tax break for drone factory
