If there is one VC fund you know in the defense tech world, it’s probably Andreesen Horowitz—or a16z, as the cool kids say. The firm—which just raised a casual $15B, including $1.176B for its “national interest” (defense and deep tech) focused American Dynamism fund—has backed some of the biggest names in the game, including Anduril, […]
What’s AI-powered, has many limbs, and will soon be climbing all over even more of the Navy’s most expensive, mission-critical components? Gecko Robotics, as it turns out. This morning, the PA-based robotics company announced in an exclusive release toTectonic that it’s officially teaming up with major US Navy supplier Trident Maritime Systems to “deploy advanced […]
Well, it would appear that investors’ appetite for rare earths ain’t goin’ nowhere. Yesterday, US rare earths magnet manufacturer Noveon Magnetics announced that it’s closed a $215M Series C led by a whopping $200M investment from One Investment Management (OneIM). The company says that this big ol’ pile of cash will fuel “significant growth” of […]
This may come as a departure from Tectonic’s usual lighthearted coverage, but at the end of the day, it’s our responsibility to report on all of the defense tech industry—even the gritty bits. The US Navy’s former Program Executive Officer for Unmanned and Small Combatants (PEO USC), Rear Adm. Kevin Smith, was fired from his […]
Guess what, guys? The defense tech dudes are forming new cliques. This morning, AI-for-defense powerhouse Raft announced that it’s launched a “partner program [that’s] designed to help industry partners rapidly build, integrate, and deploy mission-ready applications on top” of Raft’s data and AI programs. The idea is that because Raft is already plugged into the […]
DIU is wasting no time getting to work under its new leadership. Last night, the innovation unit posted a new $100M (yes, $100M) prize challenge to “prototype market-ready solutions to establish a robust, scalable and vehicle-agnostic capability for understanding, tasking and coordinating autonomous systems at the fleet level.” Using normal words: They’re looking for a […]
Looks like the factory of the future craze ain’t going anywhere in 2026. Over the weekend, new-age manufacturing company Hadrian said it had raised an undisclosed amount of capital at a $1.6B valuation led by T. Rowe Price, with participation from Altimeter Capital, D1 Capital Partners, StepStone Group, 1789 Capital, Founders Fund, Lux Capital, a16z, […]
Well, it’s certainly been a busy start to the week for the Pentagon press office. Yesterday, between a rabble-rousing speech by Pete Hegseth at Lockheed’s factory in Fort Worth, the release of a plan to fully overhaul the DoD’s innovation ecosystem, another plan to accelerate AI development for the military, and the official announcement of […]
Looks like the Europeans got the memo on the whole “prime-startup” partnership thing—and man, oh man, they’re not effing around. This morning, French autonomy startup Harmattan AI announced that it’s scored a $200M Series B at a $1.4B valuation led by French defense giant Dassault Aviation. Harmattan CEO Mouad M’Ghari told Tectonic that the two […]
If 2025 was the year of the BFB (big f*cking boat), it looks like 2026 might end up being the year of the EBFB (even bigger f*cking boat). Yesterday, autonomous surface vessel (ASV) company HavocAI announced that it’s teaming up with Hanwha Defense USA (the US subsidiary of the Korean defense giant) to build a […]
