Defense

AI hardware startup Nominal triples valuation to $3B in 8 months (opens techcrunch.com)

Nominal sells an AI platform for hardware engineering and names Anduril as a major customer; the round triples its valuation to $3B in 8 months.

Nominal raises $240M at $3B, tripling its value since March (opens thenextweb.com)

Lightspeed led and Insight co-led; TechCrunch notes Nominal claims Anduril as a major customer and that the valuation tripled in eight months.

Voters reject AI data centers, Shield AI’s $5.3B Echodyne deal, and a Seattle startup’s rare double exit (opens geekwire.com)

GeekWire's podcast covers Shield AI's $5.3B deal for drone-tracking radar maker Echodyne, voters backing data center limits in 40 of 41 local ballot measures, and a Seattle startup acquired twice.

The Week’s 10 Biggest Funding Rounds: AI, Defense And Space Tech Lead For Large Rounds (opens news.crunchbase.com)

Crunchbase's weekly roundup of the largest rounds; Shield AI's $2B led the week.

CesiumAstro, which plans a 737-satellite LEO communications network at two altitudes, raised $730M at a $4.5B+ valuation (opens bloomberg.com)

CesiumAstro, which plans a 737-satellite LEO communications network at two altitudes, raised $730M at a $4.5B+ valuation, bringing its total funding to $1.4B — CesiumAstro raised $730 million in its latest funding round, a cash infusion the Austin-based satellite manufacturer will use …

Autonomous combat drone maker Shield AI buys radar startup Echodyne for $5.3B (opens siliconangle.com)

Shield AI agreed to buy the Bill Gates-backed radar maker for up to $5.3B and is raising $2.5B to pay for it, including $1B in new funding at a $28.8B valuation.

Harbinger raises $240M after expanding into defense (opens techcrunch.com)

The Los Angeles startup, now past $650M raised, builds electric trucks, emergency vehicles and a driverless military platform.

First X-BAT fighter jet prototype unveiled as Shield AI preps Seattle area factory for 2027 launch (opens geekwire.com)

Defense tech startup Shield AI has completed its first full-scale X-BAT autonomous fighter prototype, keeping the company on track to open its 420,000-square-foot production hub in Des Moines, Wash., in spring 2027.

Palantir reports Q3 revenue up 96% YoY to $2.31B, above $2.18B est., US commercial revenue up 148% YoY to $984M, and raises FY 2026 revenue guidance to ~$8.53B (Samantha Subin/CNBC) (opens cnbc.com)

US commercial revenue rose 148% to $984M and topped US government revenue ($953M) for the first time.

Salesforce to buy Rune in its most significant national security deal (opens thenextweb.com)

Rune's AI software helps the military plan supplies near the front line; it joins Missionforce, the defence business Salesforce launched a year ago.

Palantir CTO tells Stratechery he doesn’t regret working with Anthropic (opens thenextweb.com)

Shyam Sankar told Ben Thompson that Palantir was caught in Anthropic's clash with the US Department of War and does not regret working with Anthropic.

Salesforce’s M&A spree continues with a reported $375M deal for defense tech startup Rune (opens techcrunch.com)

The AI logistics startup would bolster Salesforce's Missionforce defense platform.

Salesforce acquires Rune, which makes AI military logistics software, sources say for $375M in cash and stock (opens resiliencemedia.co)

Rune makes AI military logistics software and had raised $30M from a16z and others; TechCrunch says it will join Salesforce's Missionforce defense platform.

Aviern: Unmanned cargo airplanes for autonomous airports (opens ycombinator.com)

Fixed-wing cargo drones for regional air freight and defense logistics; the company says 1,000 lbs over 1,000 miles for under $1,000.

Anduril, Qualcomm launch BlueChip, a new kind of US-made laptop (opens techcrunch.com)

Anduril founder Palmer Luckey is vowing to bring computer manufacturing back to the U.S., and by that he doesn't just mean assembly, but every individual component, some of which are exclusively made in China today.

Stoke Space lines up $150M Pentagon loan for a second launch pad in Florida (opens geekwire.com)

The conditional financing would help the Kent, Wash.-based startup build infrastructure for Nova Block 2, a bigger rocket due to debut in 2029.

Colare raises $2.5M to help firms vet engineering candidates with advanced simulations (opens siliconangle.com)

Engineering talent vetting startup Colare Inc. says its simulated candidate testing platform is ready for prime time today after closing on a $2.5 million pre-seed funding round backed by Afore Capital, Garage Capital and Acadian Ventures.

Warhound raises $200M to engineer war dogs and arm them with Anduril gear (opens techcrunch.com)

Warhound, the brainchild of Ben Lamm and Palmer Luckey, emerges from stealth to genetically engineer dogs for military and law enforcement.

Ex-Marine and Microsoft vets launch Watchtower Labs with $35M to bring AI to military logistics (opens geekwire.com)

Bellevue-based Watchtower Labs, co-founded by a former Marine special-operations officer and two longtime Microsoft engineering leaders, builds AI and simulation software for military logistics planning.

Google staff resign in backlash over its AI contracts with military (opens bbc.com)