Defense tech giant Anduril, which is rapidly expanding its operations in the Seattle area, is looking to raise a new round of capital that could value the company at about $100 billion, reports Reuters.
That would give the privately-held startup a bigger valuation than Northrop Grumman, the 87-year-old defense company which is currently valued at $77 billion. Boeing’s market value stands at $165 billion, while Lockheed Martin is valued at $134 billion.
Founded in 2017, Anduril is led by the Hawaiian-shirt and cargo-shorts wearing Palmer Luckey, the 33-year-old creator of Oculus VR, whom the New York Times described as the “It Guy of the booming defense-technology industry.”
In May, the Costa Mesa, Calif.-based company raised a $5 billion series H funding round — including investments from Thrive Capital and Andreessen Horowitz — that valued Anduril at $61 billion.
Anduril is rapidly expanding in the Seattle area, with offices in downtown Seattle and Bellevue where the company is working on a range of defense technologies, including its Lattice command and control software. That platform is described as an “AI-powered battle management platform built to accelerate complex kill chains.”
It also recently established operations at the historic Foss Maritime shipyard along the southern bank of the Lake Washington Ship Canal, where the company is developing autonomous naval vessels and other maritime technologies.
The company’s expansion in Washington state is not without controversy. Last weekend, protesters handed out flyers outside the company’s downtown Seattle offices that said: “Anduril Out! No AI for War and Plunder!”
Anduril said it recognizes the right to protest, while defending its work supporting the U.S. military and service members.
“We respect the right to free speech and we understand that protests are a hallmark of democratic expression,” Anduril said in a statement provided to GeekWire. “That said, it is perplexing when people choose to protest a company dedicated to supporting the very military that safeguards those rights.”
Earlier this week, Anduril announced a new program called Thunder, an autonomous attack rotorcraft that it said is “designed to multiply the combat power and increase the survivability of current and next-generation crewed attack and assault aircraft.”
The size of the potential funding round hasn’t been determined and the terms are still in flux, Reuters reported, citing two people familiar with the matter. One structure under discussion would have investors commit upfront to a second financing within a year at a higher valuation, contingent on Anduril hitting certain financial targets.
In a statement, Anduril said the “reporting runs well ahead of the facts.”
“Any details about terms, structure, pricing, or timing of a future financing round are purely speculative,” the company said. “As a private company, we regularly evaluate opportunities to fund the growth of the business. Beyond that, we don’t comment on rumors.”
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