How times have changed. Already this year, more than $14.6 billion in venture investment has gone into companies in Crunchbase's military, national security and law enforcement categories, blowing past the sector's previous annual record of $9.6 billion raised in all of 2025. Investors have poured billions into startups developing AI-powered military systems, autonomous vehicles, defense software and space technologies, and they're writing increasingly large checks to do it, Crunchbase data shows. Global defense tech funding totaled $1.6 billion in 2020 before climbing to $3.9 billion in 2021, Crunchbase data shows. Funding then remained relatively steady between roughly $2.8 billion and $3.8 billion from 2022 through 2024. Deal flow has stayed steadier, mirroring a broader trend of venture capital concentration. So far this year, defense tech startups have announced 107 venture rounds, Crunchbase data shows, putting 2026's pace slightly ahead of the 206 deals done in 2025. The...
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