Stark
AI defense drone maker raises fresh funding in June 2026—see round size, valuation, and how it ranks among the latest AI funding deals.
Overview
Stark is a German defence company developing drone systems for military customers in Europe. The company operates in the defense technology market, where demand for autonomous and AI-enabled platforms is rising as governments reassess battlefield capabilities. The company is described as a defence unicorn and is tied to investor interest from Peter Thiel, positioning it among Europe’s higher-profile drone startups. Its funding context is a reported $300M raise, framed around Europe’s expanding drone arms race.
Funding History
Sequoia and Founders Fund just backed a drone startup whose drones failed: report
German defence unicorn Stark seeks €300M raise as Peter Thiel doubles down on Europe’s drone arms race
StarkWare raised a Series D round at a reported $8 billion valuation to support growth of its zero-knowledge rollup infrastructure.
StarkWare raised a Series C round at a reported $2 billion valuation to accelerate development of its Ethereum scaling technology.
StarkWare raised Series B financing to expand adoption of its StarkEx scaling engine and broader blockchain infrastructure products.
StarkWare raised a Series A round to commercialize its zero-knowledge proof technology for blockchain scalability and privacy applications.
The Ethereum Foundation provided funding to support StarkWare's work on zk-STARK scalability technology for Ethereum.
StarkWare raised seed financing to develop its STARK-based cryptographic proof and blockchain scaling technology.
Frequently Asked Questions
- How much has Stark raised in total?
- Stark has raised a total of $1.1B across 8 funding rounds.
- Who are Stark's investors?
- Stark's investors include Sequoia Capital, Founders Fund, Undisclosed, Paradigm, Ethereum Foundation, and 6 others.
- What does Stark do?
- Stark is a German defence company developing drone systems for military customers in Europe. The company operates in the defense technology market, where demand for autonomous and AI-enabled platforms is rising as governments reassess battlefield capabilities. The company is described as a defence unicorn and is tied to investor interest from Peter Thiel, positioning it among Europe’s higher-profile drone startups. Its funding context is a reported $300M raise, framed around Europe’s expanding drone arms race.
- Where is Stark headquartered?
- Stark is headquartered in Europe.
Investors
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