German defense technology startup Stark Defence has secured €500 million ($570 million) in a new funding round led by Sequoia Capital and Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund, valuing the Berlin-based company at €3.2 billion (Bergen & Kyriasoglou, 2026). This financing increases the two-year-old company’s total raised capital from €140 million to €640 million (Lunden, 2026). Other participants in the round included the NATO Innovation Fund, Döpfner Capital, Air Street Capital, 201 Ventures, Advent, and Project A (Bergen & Kyriasoglou, 2026; Lunden, 2026).
Stark stated that 80% of the newly raised capital will be allocated toward research and development and expanding manufacturing capabilities, while the remainder is designated for “sovereign defence” purposes (Lunden, 2026). The company intends to scale production to thousands of units per month and focus its R&D efforts on electronic warfare (Lunden, 2026).
The company’s product portfolio includes the Virtus long-range loitering munition, the Cascade tube-launched effector, the Gambit man-portable quadcopter, the Vanta unmanned surface vessel, the R-Zero electronic warfare system, and the Minerva command and control software stack (Lunden, 2026). The Virtus system has a stated range of over 130 kilometers, an endurance of up to 90 minutes, and vertical take-off and landing capabilities (Stark Defence, 2026).
In February 2026, Stark signed a framework agreement with the German Armed Forces to supply the Virtus system, with deliveries scheduled to begin in 2026 (Stark Defence, 2026). The initial fixed order is valued at €268.6 million, and the total value of the contract could reach approximately €2.86 billion if all optional orders are exercised (Lunday, 2026). However, the contract’s approval has faced political scrutiny in the German parliament due to concerns regarding investor Peter Thiel’s involvement and redacted details concerning unit costs and quantities (Lunday, 2026). The contract requires the munitions to complete safety qualifications by September 30, 2026, and includes exit clauses if performance benchmarks are not met (Lunday, 2026).
Stark was founded in 2024 by Florian Seibel and Johannes Schaback as a spin-out from drone manufacturer Quantum Systems (Stanciuc, 2026; Lunden, 2026). In October 2025, Uwe Horstmann, a founding partner at Project A, was appointed as the company’s Chief Executive Officer (Stark Defence, 2025). The company currently operates in Germany, Ukraine, Sweden, and Greece, and has established a production facility in Swindon, England (Stanciuc, 2026).
References
Stark Defence. (2025, October 16). Europe’s top defence investor becomes CEO of STARK.
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