Defense tech startup Epirus is reportedly raising between $150 million and $200 million in a new funding round led by Joe Lonsdale’s venture firm 8VC, Bloomberg reports. The round could give the company, which develops technology to intercept drones, a valuation of about $1 billion. If that’s the final valuation, it would be a decrease from the company’s previous $1.35 billion valuation. (Epirus did not comment to Bloomberg.)
Lonsdale co-founded the company in 2018 with Bo Marr, Max Medni, Nathan Mintz, Grant Verstandig and John Tenet. The startup has already raised nearly $300 million from investors like DCVC and Bedrock, according to PitchBook. It’s also one of the few American-based defense tech unicorns, alongside companies like Anduril, Shield AI and Rebellion Defense. Â
Only time will tell if 2025 defense funding will reach the highs of last year, where startups in the space had scored almost $3 billion by November.