Since 2018, Anduril Industries—a rapidly growing defense tech firm backed by billionaire Peter Thiel and founded by Palmer Luckey—has landed 16 contracts from the Department of Homeland Security worth over $550 million. The goal? To blanket the U.S.-Mexico border with autonomous surveillance towers, AI-powered drones, and military-grade interceptor systems. What started as a modest border security pilot project has morphed into a full-blown, algorithm-driven enforcement machine.

Anduril Industries, a prominent defense tech firm, publicly announced, earlier this year, its plan to build Arsenal-1, a five-million-square-foot advanced weapons manufacturing facility in Pickaway County, Ohio, near Rickenbacker International Airport. This initiative, originally and secretly codenamed "Project Thor," has been promoted by Governor Mike DeWine as the biggest job-creation and payroll project in the state’s history. They’re promising 4,000 direct jobs by 2035, 4,500 more indirectly, a $1 billion boost to Ohio’s GDP, and $2 billion in annual economic output. Anduril claims Arsenal-1 will "rebuild the arsenal" of U.S. military might by "hyperscaling" production of autonomous systems and weaponry, like advanced drones.

The New Architects of Conflict

Anduril Industries’ latest expansion near the Mississippi Solid Rocket Complex is drawing harsh criticism from community activists and arms control advocates who say the move accelerates a dangerous militarization of domestic industry.

DUBLIN, Ireland — Anduril Industries, the defense startup synonymous with AI-driven warfare, has announced its acquisition of Irish IT firm Klas. The move, framed as an expansion of Anduril’s tactical computing capabilities, signals deeper entrenchment of autonomous defense operations—but critics warn of unchecked corporate control over military decision-making.

Defense technology startup Anduril Industries has just raised an eye-popping $2.5 billion in its Series G funding round, catapulting its valuation to an astounding $30.5 billion. This fresh infusion of capital—more than doubling its previous valuation of around $14 billion—has positioned the company as a formidable force in modern defense tech and military innovation.