Less than six months after raising a $145 million in a Series B, defense and critical infrastructure tech startup Chaos Industries locked up a $275 million Series C that reportedly values the company at $2 billion.
The new round was led by Accel and New Enterprise Associates, with participation from StepStone Group, Overmatch Ventures, Tru Arrow Partners and Valor Equity Partners.
The Los Angeles-based startup specializes in advanced detection, monitoring and communication solutions for the defense and commercial sectors. The company’s Vanquish radar provides early warning and tracking capabilities against unmanned aerial systems, missiles and aircraft.
“CHAOS Industries is delivering transformative solutions that address critical defense objectives,” said founder and co-CEO John Tenet in a statement. “The future of our national security hinges upon our access to advanced defense technologies and our willingness to invest in their development. The latest funding round demonstrates our company’s commitment to this mission.”
Founded in 2022, Chaos has raised $490 million, per the company.
Bigger money
Chaos was not the only defense tech startup to make news as the week ended.
Mach Industries, which develops vertical liftoff vehicles and weapons that sit at the edge of space, is close to locking up a $100 million round co-led by new investor Khosla Ventures and existing investor Bedrock Capital, per TechCrunch.
Funding to VC-backed startups in defense — defined here as the industries of military, national security and law enforcement — hit $3 billion in 102 deals last year, per Crunchbase data. That’s only an 11% uptick from 2023, which saw $2.7 billion raised in 100 announced rounds.
This year could see another significant bump.
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