Defense 1000 Index
Comprehensive defense technology funding data and venture capital rankings for the 1,000 most-funded defense companies. $46.3B in total VC investment tracked across 51 countries.
Last updated February 8, 2026
Key Findings
Total Funding
$46.3B
Median Funding
$6.6M
Public Companies
0
Top Location
United States
Top Industry
Software
Avg Founded
2011
Defense Funding Analysis
Funding by Industry
Total venture funding by primary industry classification, top 10
Geographic Distribution
Number of Defense 1000 companies by headquarters country
Funding Stage Breakdown
Distribution of companies by current funding stage
IPO Status
Public vs. private breakdown across the Defense 1000
By industry, Artificial Intelligence (AI) leads defense funding with $19.0B, followed by Aerospace ($16.2B).
Geographically, United States hosts the most Defense 1000 companies (696), with United Kingdom (49) and Israel (46) rounding out the top three. 0 of the 1,000 companies are publicly traded, while 1000 remain private.
The Defense 1000 ranks the world’s top venture-capital-funded defense technology companies by total cumulative funding raised, tracking 1,000 companies across 51 countries with a combined $46.3B in investment. The top 50 are shown in full—sign up for free to access the complete database and export data.
Full Rankings
Ranked by total funding raised. Click column headers to sort.
# | Company | Industries | HQ Location | Total Funding | Stage | IPO | Founded | Last Round | Last Amt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | AerospaceArtificial Intelligence (AI)+3 | Costa Mesa, California | $6.3B | — | Private | 2017 | Grant | $150K | |
| 2 | Cloud SecurityCompliance+3 | Mountain View, California | $1.9B | M&A | Private | 2015 | Venture - Series Unknown | — | |
| 3 | Artificial Intelligence (AI)Drones+3 | Munich, Germany | $1.5B | Late Stage Venture | Private | 2021 | Series D | $688.9M | |
| 4 | Artificial Intelligence (AI)Autonomous Vehicles+3 | Mountain View, California | $1.5B | Late Stage Venture | Private | 2017 | Series F | $600.0M | |
| 5 | AerospaceGovernment+2 | Los Angeles, California | $1.0B | Late Stage Venture | Private | 2022 | Series D | $510.0M | |
| 6 | Artificial Intelligence (AI)Manufacturing+3 | Austin, Texas | $845.5M | Late Stage Venture | Private | 2022 | Series C | $600.0M | |
| 7 | 3D PrintingAerospace+6 | Torrance, California | $1.1B | Late Stage Venture | Private | 2013 | Series E | $250.0M | |
| 8 | Food and BeverageHealth Care+6 | Zürich, Switzerland | $824.1M | Private Equity | Private | 2019 | Private Equity | $815.2M | |
| 9 | Cloud ComputingCloud Security+4 | San Francisco, California | $729.5M | Late Stage Venture | Private | 2013 | Series G | $350.0M | |
| 10 | AerospaceArtificial Intelligence (AI)+3 | Arlington, Virginia | $723.2M | M&A | Private | 2019 | Private Equity | $723.2M | |
| 11 | Artificial Intelligence (AI)Automotive+5 | Clarksburg, Maryland | $649.3M | Late Stage Venture | Private | 2002 | Series C | $188.0M | |
| 12 | IndustrialInfrastructure+3 | Devens, Massachusetts | $575.0M | Late Stage Venture | Private | 2015 | Series D | $220.0M | |
| 13 | AerospaceArtificial Intelligence (AI)+4 | Gilching, Germany | $597.6M | — | Private | 2015 | Venture - Series Unknown | — | |
| 14 | AerospaceEnergy Management+3 | Torrance, California | $537.6M | — | Private | 2018 | Corporate Round | — | |
| 15 | AerospaceAnalytics+4 | Herndon, Virginia | $562.3M | Late Stage Venture | Private | 2015 | Series E | $150.0M | |
| 16 | AerospaceGovernment+3 | Torrance, California | $469.6M | Early Stage Venture | Private | 2022 | Series B | $350.0M | |
| 17 | AerospaceArtificial Intelligence (AI)+3 | Hawthorne, California | $607.8M | — | Private | 2020 | Venture - Series Unknown | $131.3M | |
| 18 | BiotechnologyEnergy+5 | Janesville, Wisconsin | $774.2M | Late Stage Venture | Private | 2005 | Series C | — | |
| 19 | DronesElectronics+2 | Yongin, South Korea | $515.9M | Private Equity | Private | 1976 | Grant | $129.1M | |
| 20 | AerospaceNational Security+2 | Berthoud, Colorado | $434.3M | Late Stage Venture | Private | 2015 | Series E | $100.0M | |
| 21 | Advanced MaterialsBattery+2 | San Jose, California | $367.0M | — | Private | 2015 | Venture - Series Unknown | — | |
| 22 | AdvertisingAgentic AI+6 | New York, New York | $300.6M | M&A | Private | 2012 | Venture - Series Unknown | $50.0M | |
| 23 | Artificial Intelligence (AI)Big Data+3 | Alameda, California | $299.5M | — | Private | 2012 | Corporate Round | $50.0M | |
| 24 | EdTechEducation+3 | Carpinteria, California | $289.0M | M&A | Private | 1995 | Series B | $186.0M | |
| 25 | AnalyticsArtificial Intelligence (AI)+3 | Pleasanton, California | $286.6M | Late Stage Venture | Private | 2013 | Secondary Market | — | |
| 26 | BiotechnologyPharmaceutical+1 | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | $253.7M | — | Private | 2015 | Venture - Series Unknown | $29.0M | |
| 27 | Data CenterData Storage+3 | Austin, Texas | $273.4M | M&A | Private | 2003 | Debt Financing | $20.0M | |
| 28 | AerospaceIntellectual Property+2 | Long Beach, California | $250.0M | Early Stage Venture | Private | 2020 | Series A | $250.0M | |
| 29 | GovernmentInformation Technology+1 | El Segundo, California | $245.9M | M&A | Private | 1949 | Venture - Series Unknown | $35.0M | |
| 30 | Artificial Intelligence (AI)Computer Vision+1 | Paris, France | $242.0M | Early Stage Venture | Private | 2024 | Series B | $200.0M | |
| 31 | Artificial Intelligence (AI)Cyber Security+3 | Roma, Italy | $224.4M | — | Private | 2018 | Venture - Series Unknown | $117.2M | |
| 32 | ElectronicsNational Security+2 | Kirkland, Washington | $199.0M | Late Stage Venture | Private | 2014 | Series C | $135.0M | |
| 33 | BiometricsSecurity+2 | Campbell, California | $188.7M | Late Stage Venture | Private | 2000 | Series F | $20.0M | |
| 34 | AI InfrastructureArtificial Intelligence (AI)+5 | London, United Kingdom | $187.0M | Early Stage Venture | Private | 2019 | Series B | $20.0M | |
| 35 | EnergyEnergy Efficiency+1 | Oak Ridge, Tennessee | $186.5M | Early Stage Venture | Private | 2024 | Series A | $140.0M | |
| 36 | Drone ManagementIndustrial+3 | Huntington Beach, California | $184.7M | Early Stage Venture | Private | 2023 | Series B | $100.0M | |
| 37 | InternetMobile+1 | Breinigsville, Pennsylvania | $184.1M | M&A | Private | 1999 | Private Equity | — | |
| 38 | Cyber SecurityInformation Technology+2 | Santa Clara, California | $183.0M | M&A | Private | 2011 | Series F | $51.0M | |
| 39 | Cloud ComputingCyber Security+4 | Boston, Massachusetts | $180.0M | Early Stage Venture | Private | 2003 | Series B | $145.0M | |
| 40 | AndroidCRM+7 | Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia | $173.0M | — | Private | 2000 | Venture - Series Unknown | $168.0M | |
| 41 | Artificial Intelligence (AI)Industrial Engineering+3 | Chatsworth, California | $172.3M | Late Stage Venture | Private | 2019 | Series C | $124.0M | |
| 42 | AppsArtificial Intelligence (AI)+3 | Colorado Springs, Colorado | $171.5M | Early Stage Venture | Private | 2021 | Series B | $136.0M | |
| 43 | AnalyticsArtificial Intelligence (AI)+4 | Arlington, Virginia | $170.0M | Private Equity | Private | 2011 | Private Equity | $150.0M | |
| 44 | Artificial Intelligence (AI)Computer+4 | San Francisco, California | $159.4M | — | Private | 2012 | Venture - Series Unknown | — | |
| 45 | Artificial Intelligence (AI)Machine Learning+2 | Washington, District of Columbia | $150.0M | Early Stage Venture | Private | 2019 | Series B | $150.0M | |
| 46 | Cloud SecurityCyber Security+2 | Richardson, Texas | $149.1M | Late Stage Venture | Private | 2009 | Series F | $89.0M | |
| 47 | Cloud SecurityConsulting+3 | Tempe, Arizona | $146.0M | Early Stage Venture | Private | 2005 | Series B | $46.0M | |
| 48 | Cyber SecurityInternet of Things+2 | Taipei, Taiwan | $144.9M | Early Stage Venture | Private | 2019 | Series B | $51.0M | |
| 49 | MobileNational Security+1 | Rockville, Maryland | $142.7M | M&A | Private | 2007 | Private Equity | $142.7M | |
| 50 | AI InfrastructureArtificial Intelligence (AI)+3 | Maisons-laffitte, France | $154.0M | Early Stage Venture | Private | 2019 | Series A | $37.5M | |
| 51 | ComputerCyber Security+4 | Holon, Israel | $141.0M | Late Stage Venture | Private | 2016 | Series D | $70.0M | |
| 52 | Data IntegrationEnterprise Software+1 | Belcamp, Maryland | $138.9M | M&A | Private | 1983 | Private Equity | $138.9M | |
| 53 | AerospaceIndustrial+1 | Albuquerque, New Mexico | $200.8M | Early Stage Venture | Private | 2016 | Debt Financing | $6.0M | |
| 54 | Artificial Intelligence (AI)Cyber Security+1 | Covina, California | $128.8M | Late Stage Venture | Private | 2022 | Series C | $70.0M | |
| 55 | Artificial Intelligence (AI)GPS+6 | Chippendale, Australia | $133.0M | Early Stage Venture | Private | 2017 | Series B | $59.0M | |
| 56 | Advanced MaterialsAerospace+3 | El Segundo, California | $127.0M | Early Stage Venture | Private | 2019 | Series B | $100.0M | |
| 57 | Artificial Intelligence (AI)Autonomous Vehicles+3 | Seattle, Washington | $142.0M | Early Stage Venture | Private | 2022 | Series B | $80.0M | |
| 58 | AerospaceNational Security+2 | Syracuse, New York | $130.9M | Late Stage Venture | Private | 2018 | Series C | $65.0M | |
| 59 | IndustrialIndustrial Automation+3 | Framingham, Massachusetts | $121.9M | — | Private | 2020 | Venture - Series Unknown | $120.0M | |
| 60 | DronesIndustrial Automation+2 | Los Angeles, California | $119.5M | Early Stage Venture | Private | 2023 | Series B | $75.0M |
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Methodology
The Defense 1000 Index ranks the top 1,000 defense technology companies globally by total funding raised. Companies are selected based on the following criteria:
- Primary business operations involve defense technology, aerospace, national security, or related technologies
- Company has disclosed at least one verified funding round
- Active operations as of the index date (not acquired or dissolved)
- Rankings are determined by total cumulative funding in USD
Data is sourced from public filings, press releases, and verified third-party databases. The index is updated quarterly to reflect new funding activity and market changes.
Cite This Index
APA Format
News / Editorial
Frequently Asked Questions
The Defense 1000 Index is a quarterly ranking by VCbacked of the 1,000 most-funded defense technology companies globally. It tracks venture capital funding data, funding rounds, industry classification, and geographic distribution for every ranked company.
The Defense 1000 Index provides detailed defense tech funding data including total capital raised, last funding round, funding stage, and IPO status for 1,000 companies. Browse the top 50 for free, or sign up to access the full dataset.
The Defense 1000 tracks the top 1,000 funded defense technology companies globally. The combined total venture funding is updated quarterly. See the current total and breakdown in the Key Findings section.
The Defense 1000 Index is updated quarterly to reflect new funding rounds, acquisitions, and market changes in the global defense technology industry.
Companies must primarily operate in defense technology, aerospace, national security, or related technologies, have at least one verified funding round, and be actively operating. Rankings are determined by total cumulative venture funding in USD.
Yes. Subscribers can export the full Defense 1000 dataset as a CSV file, including company names, funding amounts, funding rounds, industries, headquarters, and IPO status.
The Defense 1000 Index is compiled from public filings, press releases, and verified databases. Companies are automatically included if they meet the selection criteria. There is no application process.
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