Latest news with #FoundersFund
Bloomberg
5 days ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
Hadrian Raises $260 Million on ‘Factories As a Service'
Defense tech startup Hadrian has raised a $260 million Series C funding round led by Founders Fund. Hadrian CEO Chris Power joins Ed Ludlow on 'Bloomberg Tech' to discuss how the company's tech addresses a manufacturing skills shortage in the US. (Source: Bloomberg)
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Ethereum Treasuries Boom as Companies Look Beyond Bitcoin
In crypto, coming in second can pay even better than winning, as long as Peter Thiel is writing the checks. The tech billionaire's venture capital firm Founder's Fund has snatched up a 9% stake in BitMine Immersion Technologies. BitMine recently pivoted its focus from Bitcoin mining to building up its treasury stash of ether, disclosing this week that it now holds more than $500 million worth of the second-biggest crypto by market cap. Companies have been racing to bulk up their Ethereum treasuries as they look to copy-and-paste strategies that worked for Bitcoin, the No. 1 crypto. READ ALSO: Uber Paying $300M Fare in Robotaxi Deal and Gaming Platform Roblox Adds Age-Verification to Safeguard Kids Mimicking Michael Saylor Michael Saylor pioneered crypto treasuries in 2020 while leading Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy), the largest corporate holder of Bitcoin by far, with more than 600,000 Bitcoin in its stash. For investors, buying Strategy shares is a way to get indirect exposure to Bitcoin without directly investing in the digital asset. Dozens of companies have copied Strategy's model in recent months — even GameStop bought more than $500 million worth of Bitcoin. Now, companies are jockeying to become the Strategy of Ethereum: In the past 30 days, Ethereum treasury companies scooped up more than 545,000 ether worth at least $1.6 billion, CoinTelegraph reported. As companies piled into ethereum, the asset rallied to a five-month high yesterday, breaking the $3,200 mark for the first time since February. SharpLink now controls the largest corporate treasury of ether, even though the gaming and crypto company only started buying the asset last month. The firm has quickly accumulated 280,000 ether worth $846 million. But ether and Bitcoin are fundamentally different, and so are their treasuries. While Bitcoin acts as a digital store of value that sits in a vault, ether has myriad uses on the blockchain. For instance, SharpLink revealed that nearly 100% of its ether stash is staked, meaning it's being actively used to generate more ether. Shifting Spotlight: Bitcoin miners like BitMine could be looking for new sources of revenue after the crypto last year underwent its latest 'halving,' an event that cuts mining rewards in half. At the same time, Bitcoin has become crowded with investors piling into its ongoing rally (it broke past $120,000 for the first time Monday). Meanwhile, Ethereum, which many stablecoins are built on, could soon see an influx of traditional finance investors once the stablecoin regulatory framework that has been moving through the House gets President Trump's official green light. Treasury firms are ready and waiting … with giant piles of ether. This post first appeared on The Daily Upside. To receive delivering razor sharp analysis and perspective on all things finance, economics, and markets, subscribe to our free The Daily Upside newsletter. 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
Bloomberg
5 days ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
Bloomberg Tech: Netflix Shares Fall Despite Earnings Beat
Bloomberg's Ed Ludlow discusses Netflix earnings as the company's shares fall. Plus, the CFO of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing discusses the company's $165 billion US expansion plan. And defense tech startup Hadrian closes a $260 million Series C funding round led by Founders Fund.
Wall Street Journal
6 days ago
- Business
- Wall Street Journal
Defense-Tech Startup Hadrian Raises $260 Million for New Robot Factory
President Trump wants to speed up America's lagging munitions production and revitalize deteriorated shipyards. Advanced manufacturing startup Hadrian aims to do that with the help of a workforce of robots, and is now armed with fresh funding to boost manufacturing Southern California-based Hadrian said Thursday it raised $260 million in debt and equity to expand production of critical defense components and complete a 270,000-square-foot factory in Mesa, Ariz., which will be the company's largest. The equity portion of the raise, $110 million, was led by defense-tech funds Founders Fund and Lux Capital. Morgan Stanley provided the loan for the factory expansion.
CNBC
6 days ago
- Business
- CNBC
Defense manufacturing startup Hadrian closes $260 million funding round led by Peter Thiel's Founders Fund
Defense manufacturing startup Hadrian on Thursday announced the closing of $260 million Series C funding round led by Peter Thiel's Founders Fund and Lux Capital. The machine parts company said it will use the funding to build a new 270,000 square foot factory in Mesa, Arizona, and expand its Torrance, California, location as it looks to beef up its shipbuilding and naval defense capabilities. "What we really need in this country is this quantum leap above China's manufacturing model," said CEO Chris Power in an interview with CNBC's Morgan Brennan. "It's about supercharging the worker versus replacing them." Defense tech startups like Hadrian are disrupting the mainstay defense contracting industry, which is led by leaders such as Northrop Grumman and Lockheed Martin, and battling it out to boost U.S. defense production while scooping up Department of Defense contracts. Hadrian said the Arizona space will be four times the size of its California facility and start operations by Christmas. The factory will create 350 local jobs. The Hawthrone, California-based company said it is working on four to five new facilities to support production over the next year to support Department of Defense needs. Hadrian said it uses robotics and artificial intelligence to automate factories that can "supercharge American workers." Power said demand is rapidly growing, but the lack of U.S.-based talent is a major hurdle to building American dominance in shipbuilding and submarines. Using its tools, the company said it can train workers within 30 days, making them 10 times more productive. Its workforce includes ex-marines and former nurses who have never set foot in a factory. "We have to do a lot more ... but certainly we're able to keep up with the scale right now, and grateful to our team and customers for letting us go and do that," he said. "As a country, we have to treat this like a national security crisis, not just the economics of manufacturing." The fresh raise also includes investments from Andreessen Horowitz and new stakeholders such as Brad Gerstner's Altimeter Capital. The company closed a $92 million funding round in late 2023.
