As governments commit hundreds of billions of dollars to military modernisation and strategic technologies, venture capital is increasingly flowing into defence and spacetech startups, a sector many investors were hesitant to back just five years ago. Against that backdrop, I’m sharing a recent report exploring the world of private businesses valued at US$1 billion or more, known as unicorns.
For the report, the team at BestBrokers analysed the Crunchbase Unicorn Board’s list of private startups valued at at least US$1 billion, or the so-called unicorns. The data was also compiled from PitchBook and several other sources tracking the largest private company funding rounds and valuations across 2025 and 2026.
The numbers show that $22.6 billion has been invested in defence, aerospace and spacetech companies in the first half of 2026. These sectors have produced 16 newly minted unicorns this year, led by Germany’s STARK, which recently raised €500 million at a $3.65 billion valuation, along with California-based spacetech companies Cowboy Space Corporation, formerly Aetherflux, and True Anomaly, both now valued at $2 billion.
The report highlights the most valuable defence and space companies to become unicorns this year, including STARK at $3.65 billion, True Anomaly at $2.2 billion, Cowboy Space at $2 billion, Roark at $1.8 billion, Varda Space Industries at $1.6 billion, Skyryse at $1.1 billion, Skyroot Aerospace at $1.1 billion, Amca at $1.1 billion and Starcloud at $1.1 billion.
It also shows how large the sector has become overall. Anduril Industries leads the list of the most valuable defence and space unicorns at $61 billion, followed by Applied Intuition at $15 billion and Helsing at $14 billion. Other major names include Shield AI, Sierra Space, Relativity Space, Saronic, Axiom Space, K2 Space, ICEYE and Quantum Systems, all valued at several billion dollars each.
A few broader trends stand out. In the first half of 2026, 16 spacetech, aerospace and defence startups entered the unicorn club, together worth nearly $23 billion. Aerospace and spacetech accounted for 9 of those new unicorns, with a combined valuation of $12 billion, while defence contributed another 7 companies.
The United States remains the dominant market, with 9 new unicorns in the sector so far this year, accounting for nearly 60% of the total. It is also home to some of the most valuable newcomers, including Cowboy Space and True Anomaly, as well as defence names such as Amca, Performance Drone Works and Defence Unicorns.
Europe is gaining momentum too, with 5 new unicorns in the region during the first half of 2026. The UK produced Roark Aerospace and UFORCE, while Germany’s STARK raised one of Europe’s largest defence-tech rounds. Spain’s Xoople joined the unicorn club after expanding its satellite and AI capabilities, and France’s Harmattan AI reached unicorn status following a major Series B round led by Dassault Aviation.
Outside Europe and North America, Australia and India each added one new aerospace unicorn this year. Australia’s Gilmour Space Technologies reached a $1 billion valuation ahead of the commercial debut of its Eris rocket, while Skyroot Aerospace became India’s first spacetech unicorn in June 2026 after fresh funding lifted its valuation to $1.1 billion.
Leadership Comment
‘Defence technology and spacetech are undergoing a structural re-rating as venture capital categories in 2026. With AI, autonomous systems, and drone technology actively redrawing what defence and military tech looks like, opening the door to venture-backed challengers competing for contracts that would once have gone exclusively to Lockheed, Raytheon, and Boeing. Spacetech has undergone a parallel shift, with SpaceX greatly reducing the cost of reaching orbit, unlocking an entirely new market for satellites, Earth observation, and in-space services.’
– comments Paul Hoffman from BestBrokers.com.
The report was based on the latest data from the business analytics platform Crunchbase as of June 2026. Additional data on VC investments, funding rounds, and company valuations was collected from Pitchbook.
