A Dutch start-up founded by former Palantir alumni has raised $300mn at a $1.3bn valuation as it launches an ambitious plan to build up Europe’s defence industrial base. Onodrim, established a year ago, aims to strengthen the defence industrial foundations in Europe by buying critical suppliers and helping them grow. The company will use the capital to acquire controlling stakes in dual-use businesses with technologies critical for European supply chains, then apply technology, capital and business development expertise to scale operations.
Co-founders Aistis Simaitis and Alexander Blessing differentiate Onodrim from traditional private equity by operating at the core rather than buying assets for financial gain and selling them off. Their target market includes small and medium-sized family businesses that remain founder-led, aiming for founders to stay on and help expand the businesses. Defence companies are sitting on record order backlogs after Europe’s governments sharply increased military spending in response to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Most are struggling to expand capacity to deliver on large volumes required. Onodrim insists it is not coming to compete but to plug the gap that both established primes and neo-primes need. Well-known supply chain bottlenecks include drone propulsion systems, sensing and radar, energetics used in explosives, and aero-structures.
The latest funding round was led by US investment group Lux Capital with participation from General Catalyst and Lakestar. An initial $45mn seed round earlier this year was backed by General Catalyst, Lakestar and Founders Fund, the venture capital group founded by US tech billionaire Peter Thiel.
Source: Financial Times Companies · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing