Sequoia and Founders Fund just backed a drone startup Stark whose drones failed
Photo by Sergey Koznov on Unsplash
Stark raised €500 million, surpassing the approximately €300 million it was seeking, from Sequoia, Founders Fund, and the NATO Innovation Fund, among others, valuing the company at above €3.5 billion. The Berlin startup’s Virtus drones failed to hit a single target across four attempts during live-fire trials with British and German forces in November 2025, yet Germany approved a €269 million Bundeswehr contract regardless. More than 80% of the new capital goes toward manufacturing capacity, with Stark contracted to equip an entire German brigade in Lithuania by the end of 2026.
Source: techfundingnews.com