Defense Unicorns Valuation, Funding & Investors

Defense Unicorns is valued at $1B as of January 2026.

Last Defense Unicorns valuation

$1B

Series B · Jan 2026

Last Defense Unicorns funding round

$136M

Series B · Jan 2026

Cumulative funding Defense Unicorns raised

$172M

across 3 funding rounds

Key investors in Defense Unicorns

  • Sapphire Ventures
  • Ansa Capital
  • Bain Capital
  • Valor Equity Partners
  • AVP
  • Uncorrelated Ventures

Defense Unicorns Overview

About Defense Unicorns

Defense Unicorns is an Austin, Texas-headquartered software firm building open-source platforms for US national security. Its UMA (Unicorn Management Architecture) enables continuous integration/deployment of mission apps in air-gapped DoD networks, supporting Kubernetes on classified clouds like IL5. Adopted by US Air Force for ABMS and JADC2 programs, the technology deploys AI models at tactical edges. Founded in 2020 by ex-Palantir engineers, Defense Unicorns collaborates with AWS GovCloud and holds CMMC Level 3 certification.


Founded

2021

HQ

United StatesColorado Springs, CO

Status

Privately held

Customer focus

B2G

Revenue model

Services, Subscription

Valuation

$1B (Jan 2026)

Defense Unicorns Valuation

Defense Unicorns is currently valued at $1B, based on its Series B in January 2026.

The $136M round was led by Bain Capital, with participation from David Petraeus, AVP, Uncorrelated Ventures, Sapphire Ventures, Valor Equity Partners and 1 other investor.

Defense Unicorns valuation by funding round

Defense Unicorns valuation by funding round
DateStageValuation
Jan 2026Series B$1B

Defense Unicorns Funding History

Defense Unicorns has raised a total of $172M across 3 funding rounds.

Defense Unicorns' first fundraising round was a $500K seed round in October 2022. The most recent completed round was a $136M Series B in January 2026.

Defense Unicorns funding rounds

Defense Unicorns funding rounds
DateStageInvestorsRaisedValuationDeal Summary
Jan 2026Series BBain Capital (lead); David Petraeus; AVP; Uncorrelated Ventures; Sapphire Ventures; Valor Equity Partners; Ansa Capital$136M$1BDefense Unicorns, a San Antonio-based defense technology company and leader in airgap software delivery for national security mission systems, completed a $136 million Series B funding round on January 13, 2026, led by Bain Capital's Tech Opportunities fund. The round included participation from Ansa Capital, Sapphire Ventures, Valor Equity Partners, AVP, Uncorrelated Ventures, and former CIA Director David H. Petraeus, pushing the company's post-money valuation beyond $1 billion and achieving unicorn status. This follows their $35 million Series A in 2024. The funding underscores the company's rapid and profitable growth, including a 300% year-over-year increase in adoption across military systems. Defense Unicorns specializes in secure, portable platforms like the Unicorn Delivery Service (UDS), a runtime for packaging and deploying mission applications in air-gapped environments; UDS Registry for securing software supply chains; and UDS Army for standardizing DevSecOps pipelines in Army programs. These tools enable modernization of mission systems, improving readiness, resilience, and operational advantage for U.S. military and allied forces by integrating open-source and commercial dual-use technologies. Proceeds will scale product development and expand secure software deployment across critical platforms. Investors highlighted the firm's technical expertise and understanding of military operations amid rising VC interest in defense tech. Bain Capital partners emphasized Defense Unicorns' role in delivering advanced, rapidly deployable software to service members in high-stakes environments.
Mar 2024Series AAnsa Capital (lead); Sapphire Ventures (lead)$35M-Defense Unicorns, founded in 2021 by Robert Slaughter, Andrew Greene, and Jeff McCoy, develops airgap software delivery solutions for national security systems, including the Unicorn Delivery Service (UDS) for secure deployment in classified networks, UDS Registry for software supply chain security, and UDS Army for standardized DevSecOps pipelines. The company targets U.S. military branches like Navy, Army, Air Force, and Space Force, with adoption across over 30 mission systems and 300% YoY growth reported in 2026. It holds Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification Level 2 and secured a $15M STRATFI agreement from SpaceWERX in 2024. In July 2024, Defense Unicorns raised $35 million in a Series A round led by Ansa Capital and Sapphire Ventures, with participation from Global Venture Bridge, as noted in secondary market data listing a $233.33MM valuation. This followed early traction with initial customers and positioned the startup for growth in defense tech. Ansa Capital highlighted the non-obvious early bet turning into consensus DoD software delivery choice. The July 2024 round preceded a January 2026 $136 million Series B led by Bain Capital's Tech Opportunities fund, with participation from Ansa Capital, Sapphire Ventures, Valor Equity Partners, AVP, Uncorrelated Ventures, and David H. Petraeus, pushing valuation over $1 billion to unicorn status. Funds supported expansion of UDS platforms amid surging VC interest in defense tech.
Oct 2022Seed-$500K--

Who has invested in Defense Unicorns?

7 investors have backed Defense Unicorns across its funding rounds, including Sapphire Ventures, Ansa Capital, Bain Capital, Valor Equity Partners, AVP and Uncorrelated Ventures.

Lead investors include Bain Capital, Ansa Capital and Sapphire Ventures.


Defense Unicorns Investors

Investors in Defense Unicorns by funding rounds participated
InvestorHQRoundsRoleFirst check
Sapphire VenturesUnited StatesAustin, TX2LeadMar 2024
Ansa CapitalUnited StatesNew York City, NY2LeadMar 2024
David PetraeusUnited StatesNew York City, NY1ParticipantJan 2026
AVPFranceParis1ParticipantJan 2026
Uncorrelated VenturesUnited KingdomLondon1ParticipantJan 2026

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Defense Unicorns Competitors

Defense Unicorns competitors include listed companies like CANCOM, cyber_Folks and Systena, and private ones like BlueVoyant, JupiterOne and Solo.io.

Public and private companies comparable to Defense Unicorns
CompanyHQStatusRevenueEBITDAValuationRevenue Multiple
CANCOMGermanyGermanyPublicly listed$2B$118M$740M0.4x
BlueVoyantUnited StatesNew York City, NYPrivate--$1B-
JupiterOneUnited StatesRaleigh, NCPrivate--$1B-
Solo.ioUnited StatesUnited StatesPrivate--$1B-
cyber_FolksPolandPolandPublicly listed$226M$72M$996M4.3x
SystenaJapanJapanPublicly listed$607M$107M$1B1.4x

Defense Unicorns Public Comps

Defense Unicorns is still privately-owned, but its public comps include Sify Technologies, Rackspace, cyber_Folks, Bravura Solutions, Systena, Neurones, Sonaecom, GuoChuang Software, NSFOCUS and Zensar Technologies.

Last FYEV/RevenueEV/EBITDA
RevenueEBITDALast FYLTM2027ELast FYLTM2027E
Sify Technologies$468M$107M3.2x2.0x13.8x8.2x
Rackspace$2.7B$244M1.5x1.6x17.1x15.0x
cyber_Folks$226M$72M5.1x4.3x16.1x13.0x
Bravura Solutions$201M$55M4.9x4.9x17.9x17.0x
Systena$607M$107M1.4x1.4x7.9x-
Neurones$987M$177M0.8x0.7x4.2x6.4x
Sonaecom$20M$1M39.0x-594.1x-
GuoChuang Software$220M($17M)4.8x-(60.4x)-

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Common questions about Defense Unicorns

When was Defense Unicorns founded?Defense Unicorns was founded in 2021.
Where is Defense Unicorns headquartered?Defense Unicorns is headquartered in Colorado Springs, CO, United States.
Is Defense Unicorns publicly listed?No, Defense Unicorns is a private, VC-backed company.
What is Defense Unicorns' valuation?Defense Unicorns was last valued at $1B in its Series B in January 2026.
How much funding has Defense Unicorns raised?Defense Unicorns has raised $172M across 3 funding rounds.
What was Defense Unicorns' last funding round?Defense Unicorns' last funding round was a $136M Series B in January 2026, led by Bain Capital.
Who are Defense Unicorns' investors?Defense Unicorns' investors include Sapphire Ventures, Ansa Capital, David Petraeus, AVP, Uncorrelated Ventures, Valor Equity Partners and Bain Capital.
Which companies are comparable to Defense Unicorns?Companies comparable to Defense Unicorns include CANCOM, BlueVoyant, JupiterOne, Solo.io, cyber_Folks and Systena.

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