Allen Control Systems
United States
Autonomous robotic gun systems for counter-drone defense
Raised a $200M Series B in 2026 after a $30M Series A in March 2025
← All shortlistsSeries B Late-stage private Series B Series A Series B Series C Majority-acquired (LIG Nex1), operating independently Series A Public (NASDAQ: KSCP) Series C Series B Series B Series D Growth (unicorn round) Series A
Best Defense & Security companies
Unmanned ground, air, and sea systems, autonomous security patrol, and defense autonomy.
Catalog last reviewed 2026-08-10. Page copy reviewed 2026-08-10. Next editorial review by 2026-09-10. Alphabetical order, no paid placement. 15 matched live listings.
This shortlist is the live catalog slice for the Defense & Security category. Listings appear here only when their primary category matches. Full page-unique intros for remaining categories ship in a later polish pass.
How order works. Matched companies are the full live catalog slice for this primary category, sorted alphabetically by name. This is not a scored quality ranking. When listing fees open, they are intended to affect publish timing or review-queue position only, not alphabetical order or praise on this page (payments are currently closed). Operator house products are not catalog entries here; they appear only as a labeled footer bridge. See /transparency.
Category index: /categories/defense-security. Parent hub: /best. Full catalog: /directory.
Anduril Industries
Costa Mesa, USA
Autonomous defense systems and the Lattice AI command-and-control platform
Raised roughly $5B at a $61B valuation in May 2026, with a further round reported in July 2026
Asylon Robotics
Norristown, USA
Robotic perimeter security combining autonomous drones and ground robot dogs
Closed a $24M Series B led by Insight Partners in July 2025
Blue Water Autonomy
Boston, USA
Large uncrewed autonomous warships built for open-ocean naval operations
Raised a $50M Series A led by GV in August 2025 (~$64M total)
Firestorm Labs
San Diego, USA
Container-based additive manufacturing for on-site drone production
Raised an $82M Series B led by Washington Harbour Partners in April 2026 (~$153M total)
Forterra
Clarksburg, USA
AutoDrive autonomy for military and commercial ground vehicles
Raised a $238M Series C in November 2025 and partnered with BAE Systems on an autonomous AMPV prototype
Ghost Robotics
Philadelphia, USA
Vision 60 quadruped ground robots for defense and security missions
Launched a new Manipulator Arm for the Vision 60 in December 2025
Defense & SecurityFounded 2015
HavocAI
Providence, USA
Autonomous surface vessels and collaborative autonomy for naval fleets
Raised $85M in October 2025 (near $100M total); Hanwha vessel partnership announced January 2026
Knightscope
Mountain View, USA
Autonomous patrol robots and security hardware for public and commercial sites
Unveiled the new K7 outdoor patrol robot in November 2025 and reported FY2025 results in March 2026
Defense & SecurityFounded 2013
Mach Industries
Huntington Beach, USA
Autonomous aerospace and defense systems built for mass production
Raised a $300M Series C at a $1.8B valuation in June 2026
Neros Technologies
El Segundo, USA
US-made attritable FPV drones with a China-free supply chain
Closed a $75M Series B led by Sequoia in November 2025 alongside a U.S. Army FPV contract worth up to $500M
Overland AI
Seattle, USA
Full-stack ground autonomy and ULTRA unmanned vehicles for defense
Raised $100M led by 8VC in February 2026 and won a $20M Marine Corps autonomous ground vehicle contract in June 2026
Saronic Technologies
Austin, USA
Autonomous surface vessels and fleet command software for maritime defense
Closed a $1.75B Series D at a $9.25B valuation in March 2026
TEKEVER
Lisbon, Portugal
AI-enabled ISR drones and intelligence-as-a-service for defense
Raised 70M EUR in 2025 to become Europe's newest defense-tech unicorn and announced a 400M GBP UK program
Vatn Systems
Bristol, USA
Low-cost, high-volume autonomous underwater vehicles for naval missions
Raised a $60M Series A in December 2025 (~$76.5M total)