AIBRIEF
Hadrian, which builds software run factories for defense parts, raised at an $8B valuation, four times its January mark.
Hadrian, a startup that builds software-run factories for defense and aerospace parts, closed a new round at roughly $8 billion — about four times its January mark, CEO Chris Power told CNBC. Baillie Gifford, J.P. Morgan Strategic Investment Group, and Washington Harbor Partners led the round.
The raise scales workforce, the company's Opus factory software, and capacity for submarines, munitions, and the drone industrial base. Power said Opus is already in use at the Army and Navy, with partnerships at large defense primes to be announced.
The deal fits a seven-month wave of defense-tech capital repricing toward physical throughput. Shield AI marked $12.7 billion in March, Saronic $9.25 billion in March, and Anduril past $60 billion in May. The Trump administration has set a $1.5 trillion defense spending target, a stated policy aspiration rather than appropriated spend, and private capital is positioning for it.
Hadrian's order book is the open question. The company runs a $2.4 billion-scale Factory 4 in Alabama, has been enlisted by the Army for Red River Depot automation, and opened a separate AI-powered maritime factory focused on submarines. The Navy has committed $900 million to automated factories to lift submarine output. Whether the new valuation tracks to booked contracts, or just to investor appetite for defense hardware, is the number to watch.