A German drone company has just landed two of the most prominent venture capital investors in America as backers. But, why?
What’s happening:
- Germany based drone company Stark has raised $62M USD in a new strategic financing round
- The new funding round was led by Sequoia Capital and included notable participation from Peter Thiel’s family office Thiel Capital and Joe Lonsdale’s venture capital fund 8VC
By the numbers:
- The new financing round values Stark at approximately $500M USD
- Stark has now raised $100M USD in venture capital funding since inception
Why it matters:
- Stark’s flagship military drone OWE-E Virtus is one of the most advanced autonomous drones for combat and has a strike radius of more than 100 kilometres
Going deeper:
- Drones have notably been a major political theme in the United States lately, with multiple new federal policy changes and executive orders from the White House sending waves through Wall Street as America looks to distance themselves from relying on foreign countries for leading edge drone hardware and software
The intrigue:
- Peter Thiel has been placing multiple bets on European defense startups lately, including recently leading a $49M USD funding round for Bulgarian satellite startup EnduroSat
