Onodrim raises USD 300m Series A to buy control of Europe's defence suppliers
Founded this year by two Palantir alumni and a 137 Ventures partner, the Amsterdam company has not yet named a single acquisition, but investors have already valued it at USD 1.3bn.
Onodrim Industries, an Amsterdam-based platform that buys controlling stakes in established defence, aerospace and industrial manufacturing businesses, has raised USD 300 million in a Series A led by Lux Capital, the company announced on 9 November 2026. The round values Onodrim at USD 1.3 billion. General Catalyst, Lakestar, Altimeter, Strike Capital, 137 Ventures, 8090 and Expeditions also took part.
The financing comes about nine months after a seed round that Onodrim put at USD 45 million and The Next Web reported as EUR 40 million, led by Founders Fund, Lakestar and General Catalyst. EU-Startups put the new round at about EUR 268 million and the valuation at about EUR 1.16 billion.
A buy-and-build model, not a product startup
Onodrim does not build drones or missiles itself. It takes controlling stakes, with what it calls permanent capital, in existing companies that already have customers, certifications and production lines, and then adds software, engineering, operational and business development resources to help them grow. The company says it focuses on dual-use businesses, which sell to both civil and military buyers, and on suppliers that can ease bottlenecks in Europe's defence supply chain.
According to EU-Startups, the targets are mainly small and medium-sized, founder-led family companies, and Onodrim encourages founders to stay on inside the group. The company told EU-Startups it has already identified several targets but declined to name them. It listed propulsion systems for drones, sensing and radar, energetics used in explosives and aero-structures as priority areas. Onodrim says it expects to announce its first acquisitions in the coming months.
As Tech Funding News pointed out, the announcement mentions no acquisitions yet, so the valuation rests on the model and the team rather than on a portfolio. TFN also noted that Bloomberg had reported in September that Lux was in discussions to join the round.
Who is behind it
Chief executive Aistis Šimaitis is a former technology leader at Palantir Technologies and a former adviser to the Lithuanian government. Chief technology officer Alexander Blessing was a forward deployed engineer at Palantir. Christian Garrett, a partner at 137 Ventures, is the third co-founder. Onodrim is opening offices in Munich and Turin, which join its existing sites in Amsterdam, London and Vilnius.
"We are bringing permanent capital, technology and world-class operators to Europe's best companies, giving them the resources to expand, compete and strengthen the continent's defence industrial base," Šimaitis said in the announcement. Brandon Reeves, a partner at Lux Capital, said: "Europe needs a stronger industrial foundation to meet the security challenges ahead."
Why defence rollups are drawing venture money
Sifted described the round as part of a wider trend of European defence rollups. The logic is simple: governments across Europe want more production capacity quickly, and much of that capacity sits in small suppliers that lack the capital, software and sales reach to take on larger programmes. Buying and upgrading them can be faster than building new factories from scratch.
The round also adds to a busy stretch for European defence tech funding. Last week Hypersonica raised EUR 100m for hypersonic systems, and TEKEVER brought Denmark's EIFO into its Series D as it opened a base in Odense.
What it means for founders and investors
For owners of mid-sized engineering and manufacturing firms, Onodrim is a new kind of buyer: venture-backed rather than private equity, and promising to hold businesses for the long term rather than sell them on. The company says it welcomes approaches from owners of defence, aerospace, manufacturing and industrial businesses. Sellers will want to look closely at governance, earn-outs and how much autonomy they keep inside the group.
For investors, the deal shows that large venture funds are now willing to back acquisition platforms in hard industry at unicorn valuations before the first deal closes. That raises the bar on execution. The key questions are how fast Onodrim can find and close acquisitions at sensible prices, and whether its technology and operating support actually lifts the performance of the companies it buys. The first named deals, expected in the coming months, will be the real test.
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