7 January 2026

The War Unicorns Defense Tech's Billion Dollar Beasts

Pete Modigliani and Matt MacGregor

The Department of War has a blessing of non-traditional unicorns charging into military innovation. These billion-dollar beasts—startups valued at $1B+—are rewriting the rules of modern warfare, blending Silicon Valley speed and tech with battlefield grit.

These disruptors are delivering autonomy, agentic AI capabilities, data mesh, and cutting-edge affordable hardware that counters many of the pacing threats. They are non-traditional by the fact that they brought private capital and novel concepts into the defense space rather than relying on government-funded RDT&E and reimbursed IR&D.

Over the last five years, venture capital firms have invested over $180B in defense tech.

We’re rounding up the herd: a comprehensive snapshot of the 22 defense tech unicorns powering tomorrow’s arsenal.

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