- Companies
- Defense Unicorns
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
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
Website
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
| Date | Stage | Valuation |
|---|---|---|
| Jan 2026 | Series 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
| Date | Stage | Investors | Raised | Valuation | Deal Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 2026 | Series B | Bain Capital (lead); David Petraeus; AVP; Uncorrelated Ventures; Sapphire Ventures; Valor Equity Partners; Ansa Capital | $136M | $1B | Defense 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 2024 | Series A | Ansa 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 2022 | Seed | - | $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
| Investor | HQ | Rounds | Role | First check |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Lead | Mar 2024 | ||
| 2 | Lead | Mar 2024 | ||
| 1 | Participant | Jan 2026 | ||
| 1 | Participant | Jan 2026 | ||
| 1 | Participant | Jan 2026 | ||
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Benchmark 350K+ Funding Rounds and Disclosed VC Valuation Multiples
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Start Free TrialDefense Unicorns Competitors
Defense Unicorns competitors include listed companies like CANCOM, cyber_Folks and Systena, and private ones like BlueVoyant, JupiterOne and Solo.io.
| Company | HQ | Status | Revenue | EBITDA | Valuation | Revenue Multiple |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Publicly listed | $2B | $118M | $740M | 0.4x | ||
| Private | - | - | $1B | - | ||
| Private | - | - | $1B | - | ||
| Private | - | - | $1B | - | ||
| Publicly listed | $226M | $72M | $996M | 4.3x | ||
| Publicly listed | $607M | $107M | $1B | 1.4x |
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 FY | EV/Revenue | EV/EBITDA | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | EBITDA | Last FY | LTM | 2027E | Last FY | LTM | 2027E | |
| $468M | $107M | 3.2x | 2.0x | 13.8x | 8.2x | |||
| $2.7B | $244M | 1.5x | 1.6x | 17.1x | 15.0x | |||
| $226M | $72M | 5.1x | 4.3x | 16.1x | 13.0x | |||
| $201M | $55M | 4.9x | 4.9x | 17.9x | 17.0x | |||
| $607M | $107M | 1.4x | 1.4x | 7.9x | - | |||
| $987M | $177M | 0.8x | 0.7x | 4.2x | 6.4x | |||
| $20M | $1M | 39.0x | - | 594.1x | - | |||
| $220M | ($17M) | 4.8x | - | (60.4x) | - | |||
This data is available for Pro users. Sign up to see all Defense Unicorns competitors and their valuation data. Start Free Trial | ||||||||
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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