Palantir Alumni’s Onodrim Raises $300 Million to Buy Up Europe’s Defense Suppliers
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Europe has a new defense unicorn, and it doesn’t build a single drone itself: Onodrim Industries, based in Amsterdam, has closed a $300 million Series A round. The company is now valued at $1.3 billion. Founded by former Palantir employees, it plans to use the money to take majority stakes in established suppliers to the defense, aerospace and manufacturing industries.
The Year’s Largest Series A
The round was led by Lux Capital, an early backer of Anduril, according to the company’s press release. New and existing investors including General Catalyst, Lakestar, Altimeter, Strike Capital, 137 Ventures, 8090 and Expeditions also took part. Onodrim says it is the largest European Series A of 2026. The company raised more than $45 million earlier this year.
The round ended up considerably larger than first planned. In late September, Bloomberg reported that Onodrim was seeking about 200 million euros at a $1 billion valuation.
Buy, Digitize, Scale
The business model looks more like private equity than a typical start-up. Onodrim plans to invest in manufacturers whose products have both civilian and military uses and that sit in the defense industry’s supply chains, where bottlenecks are currently common. The acquired companies are to receive long-term capital along with software and Onodrim’s own engineering teams, who will digitize production and develop new products so the companies can take on larger defense contracts.
Europe has many outstanding companies, but they often lack the resources to grow as fast as is now needed, said Aistis Šimaitis, Onodrim’s co-founder and chief executive. The company plans to announce its first acquisitions in the coming months. Its co-founder Alex Blessing is directly inviting owners of defense, aerospace and industrial businesses to get in touch.
Palantir DNA and an Office in Munich
Mr. Šimaitis previously advised the Lithuanian government, held a senior technology role at Palantir Technologies and earned a doctorate at the University of Oxford. Alexander Blessing, the chief technology officer, studied at Stanford and Cambridge and worked at Palantir as a forward deployed engineer, embedded directly with customers. The founding team also includes Christian Garrett, a partner at 137 Ventures. In addition to Amsterdam, London and Vilnius, Onodrim is now opening offices in Munich and Turin.
Investors are betting on the model. Europe needs a stronger industrial foundation to meet the security challenges ahead, said Brandon Reeves, a partner at Lux Capital. Jeannette zu Fürstenberg, president of General Catalyst, sees Onodrim as redefining the industrial conglomerate: Europe’s established manufacturers already have the expertise, customers and trust, she said, but they lack cutting-edge technology.
The Competition
Onodrim is entering a booming market. European defense tech companies are raising billions, led by Munich-based Helsing, which recently raised $1.8 billion at an $18 billion valuation, and Quantum Systems. Buying established manufacturers is not a new recipe either: Helsing has already acquired the Bavarian aircraft maker Grob Aircraft. But while most start-ups develop their own software, drones or systems, Onodrim is betting entirely on acquisitions in a fragmented supplier market where lead times are often measured in years.
Winning the Trust of Defense Ministries
Whether the bet pays off remains to be seen. According to The Financial Times, the open questions are whether venture capital can consolidate the supplier base quickly enough and whether defense ministries will trust a company founded only about a year ago. Defense contracts have historically gone to the large established prime contractors. On top of that, Onodrim has yet to complete a single acquisition. Its $1.3 billion valuation therefore rests mainly on its team, its investors and its promise to buy quickly in a capital-hungry market.
