Los Angeles-based defense startup Hadrian has secured $260 million in funding to grow its AI-enabled manufacturing footprint in Arizona and California.
The new funding will help open nearly five football fields’ worth of factory space, expand experimentation efforts, and launch specialized units focused on shipbuilding, naval equipment, and broader US Department of Defense programs.
Backers include Founders Fund and Lux Capital, as well as a loan arrangement provided by Morgan Stanley.
New Hub in Mesa
Hadrian plans to build a 270,000-square-foot (25,0830-square-meter) production and software center in Mesa, Arizona, with 350 new roles to be filled locally.
The investment will also go toward evaluating potential sites for a new 400,000-square-foot (37,161-square-meter) headquarters, which will also serve as a research and development facility.
Hadrian currently operates a 100,000-square-foot (9,290-square-meter) hub in Torrance. Both the Mesa and sites are expected to be inaugurated by January 2026.
Maritime Division, On-Demand Production
Concurrently, the company announced plans for a new maritime division built around an autonomous factory model for defense vessels and associated supply chains. It will be followed by separate divisions focused on munitions, drones, and missiles.
Hadrian aims to promote a “factories-as-a-service” offering, enabling defense partners and other sectors to manufacture parts, assemblies, or complete products on demand.
Bolstering American Industry, Rivaling China
Hadrian said its goal is to help “supercharge American workers” and transform the US industrial base by establishing automated factories backed with AI, machine learning, process engineering, and robotics solutions.
In an interview with CNBC, Hadrian CEO Chris Power revealed that the bigger ambition is to compete with China’s manufacturing capability.
“We have to do a lot more … but certainly we’re able to keep up with the scale right now, and grateful to our team and customers for letting us go and do that,” Power explained.
“As a country, we have to treat this like a national security crisis, not just the economics of manufacturing.”
