Looks like there's plenty of capital to go around too. Last year, world military expenditures rose 9% to top $2.7 trillion, per think tank Sipri's estimate. It was the sharpest rise in more than 30 years. Meanwhile, in startup-land, defense tech is also sizzling. This applies to virtually every metric, including total spending, round counts, large deals and unicorn creation. In fact, global investment in defense tech has already hit a record high this year. The numbers: Funding to VC-backed startups in defense ' defined here as the industries of military, national security and law enforcement ' hit $7.7 billion across close to 100 deals in 2025, per Crunchbase data. Noteworthy recent rounds: Ultra-large rounds were key in boosting the totals. So far this year, at least 10 rounds of $200 million or more have gone to companies in defense categories, per Crunchbase data. Anduril Industries, probably the most famous defense tech startup, was also this year's top fundraiser. The Costa...
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