Defense tech Hadrian raises $1.37B at $8B valuation

Defense manufacturing startup Hadrian has raised $1.37 billion in a new funding round, valuing the company at $7.87 billion. The deal was backed by a large roster of investors including major asset managers and venture firms, underlining strong investor appetite for defence-adjacent technology companies even as Hadrian avoids building AI-powered weapons itself.

Instead, Hadrian focuses on automated factories that mass-produce components for existing military vehicles and equipment. Lead investors include WCM Investment Management, Washington Harbour Partners, Valor Equity Partners, 137 Ventures and Baillie Gifford, alongside participants such as Morgan Stanley Wealth Management, Apollo, T. Rowe Price, Andreessen Horowitz, Founders Fund and Lux Capital. The round brings Hadrian's total funding to roughly $2 billion, following a $260 million Series C about a year earlier. In March, the company opened its fourth facility, an Alabama plant producing submarine parts under a public/private partnership deal valued at $2.4 billion.