Anduril's $2.8B war chest and Saronic's $2.58B Series D in March 2026 sit at the top of a category that the Pentagon has finally decided to pay for at scale. Shield AI extended its Series F to $540M in August 2025 around the V-BAT and Hivemind autonomy stack, while Helsing emerged as Europe's parallel champion across drones, fighter-pilot AI, and U-boat sonar. Skydio anchors the dual-use ISR drone slice and Mach Industries pushes additively-manufactured loitering munitions. Hadrian and Path Robotics rewire the defense industrial base on the manufacturing side, where Replicator-program timelines and CHIPS-Act-style reshoring incentives now drive procurement.
CATEGORY
Best Defense AI AI Tools
39 tools compared · 2026
Autonomous drones, maritime vessels, and battlefield AI built for Pentagon and allied procurement
39 defense ai startups tracked, with the largest concentration in US. Total tracked funding: $22.2B.
Tracked
39
Total Raised
$22.2B
Countries
9
Active Deals
0
1 
Castelion El Segundo, US $1.2B 2 
Anduril Drones Costa Mesa, US $7.5B 3 
Saronic Technologies Austin, US $2.6B 4 
CHAOS Industries Los Angeles, United States $1B 5 
Blue Water Autonomy Boston, US $64M 6 
HavocAI Providence, US $96M 7 
Skyryse El Segundo, US $600M 8 
Overland AI Seattle, US $142M 9 
Astranis San Francisco, US $1.2B 10 
Auterion Arlington, US $180M 11 
Epirus Torrance, US $550M 12 
Second Front Systems Washington, US $152.1M
Funding by year — Defense AI
2018 → 2026Market overview
Key trends 2026
- Maritime autonomy is the breakout slice. Saronic's $2.58B Series D outpaces aerial-drone funding rounds for the first time.
- Replicator demands scale, not prototypes. DoD contracts now reward Anduril and Shield AI on units shipped, not demos completed.
- European primes catch up. Helsing's expansion shows allied capital wants its own sovereign-defense AI rather than US-only stacks.
Benchmarks vs global
Largest funded
$2.8B (Anduril)
vs Saronic $2.58B Series D ↑
Time from contract to fielded drone
6-18 months
vs 5-10 years legacy primes ↓
Replicator units targeted
thousands by FY26
vs hundreds pre-program ↑
Top countries
By startup countStage breakdown
Latest round typeTop investors backing Defense AI
See all →FAQ
Frequently asked
How is ai-defense different from ai-cybersecurity-defense?
AI-defense covers military and national-security applications — autonomous drones, maritime vessels, command-and-control software (Anduril, Shield AI, Helsing, Saronic). AI-cybersecurity-defense covers SOC tools, behavioral email security, and ML-supply-chain protection (Abnormal, Wiz, Lakera).
Which defense AI startup has raised the most?
Anduril leads at $2.8B total funding. Saronic Technologies follows at $2.58B after a Series D closed in March 2026. Shield AI raised an extended Series F to $540M in August 2025. Helsing's totals are private but in the multi-billion range after its 2024 round.
What is the Pentagon's Replicator initiative and why does it matter here?
Replicator is the DoD program targeting thousands of attritable autonomous systems within ~2 years. It moved defense procurement away from one-off exquisite platforms toward volume-priced autonomous drones — directly funding Anduril, Shield AI, and similar startups.
Recent rounds in Defense AI
All rounds →| Date | Startup | Round | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 2026 | Mach Industries | Series C | $600M |
| Aug 2026 | Castelion | Series C | $800M |
| Aug 2026 | Hadrian | Series D | $1.4B |
| Jun 2026 | Ubotica Technologies | Venture | $11M |
| Jun 2026 | Comand AI | Series A | Undisclosed |
| May 2026 | Anduril Drones | Series H | $5B |
| May 2026 | Astranis | Series E | $300M |
| Apr 2026 | Scout AI | Series A | $100M |
All Defense AI startups
Page 2Vannevar Labs
AI-powered intelligence and electronic warfare software for national security
Raised
$90M
Stage
S-B
Distributed Spectrum
Real-time radio-frequency sensing and signals intelligence
Raised
$30M
Stage
S-A
Gecko Robotics
AI and robotics for inspecting critical infrastructure
Raised
$354M
Stage
S-D
Seeing Systems
Modular AI-commanded autonomous strike drones built for contested combat environments.
Raised
$500K
Stage
Seed
Code Metal
Verifiable AI that translates and optimises code for edge and defense systems
Raised
$178M
Stage
S-B
EdgeCortix
Energy-efficient AI processors purpose-built for edge generative AI
Raised
$110M
Stage
S-B
Hadrian
Factories of the Future to Reindustrialize America, powered by AI for autonomous manufacturing and inspection.
Raised
$1.4B
Stage
S-D
Helsing
Helsing is a new type of defence company providing AI-enabled precision mass and autonomous systems across all domains.
Kodiak AI
Safely driving an autonomous future with AI-powered ground autonomy solutions for reliable and efficient driverless movement.
Perennial Autonomy
AI-powered counter-drone interceptors proven in Ukraine
Comand AI
AI-native battlefield planning software for military officers
Stage
S-A
Atmo
Ultra-precise AI weather forecasting and modification with Deep Learning.
Machina Labs
Intelligent, agile, software-defined manufacturing that turns design intent into precise metal structures in days.
Mach Industries
Building next-generation defense platforms to maintain an allied American edge and deter kinetic conflict.
Raised
$600M
Stage
S-C
Path Robotics
Physical AI for manufacturing, enabling real-time adaptation for high-quality welds across part variations.