Defense startup Epirus in talks to raise over $150M, potentially cutting valuation

Defense tech startup Epirus is reportedly raising between $150 million and $200 million in a new funding round led by Joe Lonsdale’s venture firm 8VC, Bloomberg reports. The round could give the company, which develops technology to intercept drones, a valuation of about $1 billion. If that’s the final valuation, it would be a decrease from the company’s previous $1.35 billion valuation. (Epirus did not comment to Bloomberg.)

Lonsdale co-founded the company in 2018 with Bo Marr, Max Mednik, Nathan Mintz, Grant Verstandig, and John Tenet. The startup has already raised nearly $300 million from investors like DCVC and Bedrock, according to PitchBook. It’s also one of the few American-based defense tech unicorns, alongside companies like Anduril, Shield AI, and Rebellion Defense.  

Only time will tell if 2025 defense funding will reach the highs of last year, where startups in the space had scored almost $3 billion by November.