There are a lot of startups out there making autonomous speedboats and small surface vehicles, but Blue Water Autonomy is thinking bigger: The newly launched maritime autonomy company is going all in on a 150-foot autonomous warship. And it seems like investors like the idea. On Tuesday, just four months after emerging from stealth, the […]
In case you haven’t heard (we know you have), quantum computing is the next hot thing. And New Mexico and Roadrunner Venture Studios are getting in on the trend. Yesterday, the venture studio announced that it will lead a $25M initiative backed by the New Mexico Economic Development Department to build a quantum campus in […]
Things are heating up in Europe, y’all. Yesterday, Bloomberg reported that German drone company Stark is in talks to raise $60M at a $500M valuation, led by US-based mega-VC Sequoia Capital. A company spokesperson confirmed the raise to Tectonic. Other funds in talks to join the round include 8VC, Thiel Capital, the NATO Innovation Fund, […]
Well, solid rocket motors (SRMs) are certainly having a moment. Yesterday afternoon, SRM production startup X-Bow Systems announced a $13.9M joint investment with the US Army to “design, prototype, and test an advanced manufactured SRM for the standard-range Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System (GMLRS),” which is produced by Lockheed Martin. The joint investment is facilitated […]
If you’re worried about money in defense tech drying up, well, don’t worry quite yet. Today, in an exclusive release to Tectonic, VC firm Veteran Ventures Capital, which focuses on veteran-run dual-use startups, announced it has closed an oversubscribed $60M Fund II, tripling the size of its first fund. Big trust: Veteran Ventures was founded […]
Merlin the magician had a few tricks up his sleeve, but Merlin Labs just made an $800M pre-money valuation appear. On Thursday, the Boston-based aviation autonomy startup announced plans to go public next year through a Special Purpose Acquisition Company (SPAC) led by Inflection Point Asset Management. The deal, which is expected to close in […]
Between the rollercoaster Ukraine mineral deal and the Pentagon’s $400M investment in MP Materials, rare earth minerals have been all the rage in 2025. And yesterday, they got even more hyped when North Carolina-based rare earth magnet processing startup Vulcan Elements announced a $65M Series A led by Altimeter, bringing total funding to $75M. The […]
Tiny planes are truly having their moment. On Thursday, VTOL giant Archer Aviation went on a shopping spree—snapping up a manufacturing facility and assets, plus another VTOL maker’s patent portfolio—to speed development of its next-gen defense aircraft. Tiny plane, big impact: In case you don’t know, Archer was founded in California in 2018 by Adam […]
Institutional investors are going batshit crazy for defense. Yesterday, five major financial institutions, including ING and JPMorgan Chase, announced that they’re backing the Defence, Security and Resilience Bank, a new not-for-profit bank that will help NATO countries and allies finance defense needs. Backed by these finance heavy-hitters, DSRB will issue AAA-rated bonds for countries to […]
Another day, another money move. This week, defense and security-focused Forward Deployed Venture Capital announced that they have raised a $45M Fund II, backed by 150 LPs from companies including Palantir, Anduril, and SpaceX. FDVC General Partner Mark Scianna—who worked at Palantir for 11 years himself—told Tectonic that they’ll use the new pile of cash […]
