What they do:
Delivering AI-powered situational awareness in tactical environments.
Quick facts:
HQ: San Francisco, CA, United States
Top Space & Defense Startups
This list has 149 startups and was last updated on Oct 15, 2026. 46 of them are hiring right now. Biggest hubs: San Francisco (47), Los Angeles (23), and New York (6). Largest teams: Relativity Space, Astranis, and Stoke Space. Latest round: Onebrief raised $151M (Oct 14, 2026).
149 startupsPage 4 of 5
What they do:
Powering tomorrow's industrial revolution in space
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HQ: San Diego, CA, United States
What they do:
Foundation models for 24/7 Earth Observation
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HQ: San Francisco, CA, United States
What they do:
The hardware-agnostic operating system for drone defense
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HQ: San Francisco, CA, United States
What they do:
Submarine drones for defense
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What they do:
The fully autonomous intelligence layer in the sky.
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HQ: Boston, MA, United States
What they do:
Making Defense Manufacturing Faster and Cheaper
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HQ: New York, NY, United States
What they do:
We make silicon on the Moon, to power everything in space.
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HQ: Los Angeles, CA, United States
What they do:
Deploying robots to replace workers in hazardous spaces
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HQ: San Francisco, CA, United States
What they do:
Precision navigation for UAVs operating without GPS.
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HQ: San Francisco, CA, United States
What they do:
Prime Lightworks Inc. manufactures electric propulsion systems for…
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HQ: Culver City, CA, United States
What they do:
Building and Protecting an Exciting Future
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HQ: Los Angeles, CA, United States
What they do:
Tankless Dive Gear - Breath Autonomy at Sea, Land & Space
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HQ: San Francisco, CA, United States
What they do:
ApolloShield is a system that detects unwanted drones and drives them…
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YC S16Early stage
What they do:
Fixing air traffic control with remote towers
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HQ: New York, NY, United States
YC X26Early stage
What they do:
Autopilot for Flight Operations
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HQ: San Francisco, CA, United States
YC S26Early stage
What they do:
Next generation gas turbines for data centers & aviation
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YC F26Early stage
What they do:
Hyperscaling space manufacturing
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HQ: Los Angeles, CA, United States
YC F26Early stage
What they do:
AI-guided ballistic missiles, cheap enough to field in numbers that…
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HQ: San Francisco, CA, United States
YC F26Early stage
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HQ: Houston, TX, United States
Funding:
$63M · Equity · May 2026
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HQ: San Bruno, CA, United States
Incorporated: 2024
Funding:
$33.2M · Equity · Feb 2026
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HQ: Boulder, CO, United States
Incorporated: 2021
Funding:
$21M · Equity · Feb 2026
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HQ: New York, NY, United States
Funding:
$20M · Equity · Mar 2026
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HQ: Fullerton, CA, United States
Incorporated: 2024
Funding:
$6.28M · SAFE · Mar 2026
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HQ: Niceville, FL, United States
Incorporated: 2026
Funding:
$6.13M · Apr 2026
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HQ: Mclean, VA, United States
Incorporated: 2024
Funding:
$5.89M · Equity · Oct 2026
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HQ: Fayetteville, AR, United States
Incorporated: 2026
Funding:
$4M · Equity · Jun 2026
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HQ: Auburn Hills, MI, United States
Incorporated: 2026
Funding:
$2.04M · SAFE · Oct 2026
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HQ: Austin, TX, United States
Funding:
$1.2M · Debt · Jun 2026
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HQ: Vaughan, Canada
Funding:
$1M · Equity · Jan 2026
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HQ: Colorado Springs, CO, United States
Incorporated: 2026
Funding:
$525K · SAFE · Sep 2026
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HQ: Washington, DC, United States
Incorporated: 2026
Funding:
$500K · SAFE · Oct 2026
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HQ: Tucson, AZ, United States
Funding:
$250K · SAFE · Oct 2026
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HQ: Golden, CO, United States
Incorporated: 2026
Funding:
$200K · SAFE · Oct 2026
Talyn Air
Acquired
What they do:
Long range, battery electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft.
Quick facts:
HQ: Los Angeles, CA, United States
Gander
Acquired
What they do:
Automation System for Global Aviation
Quick facts:
HQ: New York, NY, United States