Anduril Industries, a startup that sells artificial intelligence–powered defense technology, is raising capital that could propel its pre-investment valuation to more than $7 billion from $4.6 billion about a year ago, according to two people with direct knowledge of the matter. The company is planning to raise at least $500 million in a Series E round, though that amount could reach $1 billion, the people said.
Started by Oculus VR founder Palmer Luckey, Anduril has drawn investor interest at a time when some venture capital firms have pulled back from large, late-stage financings during the retreat in tech stocks. But defense stocks have bucked the sell-off: Aircraft manufacturer Lockheed Martin and missile producer Raytheon Technologies are both trading at five-year highs. And Anduril, based in Costa Mesa, Calif., in January inked a 10-year contract worth about $1 billion, with the U.S. Department of Defense.
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