Stark, the Berlin-based maker of the Virtus loitering munition, announced a €500 million round in late June 2026. The Defense Post, which puts that at about $570 million, names Sequoia Capital, Founders Fund, NATO Innovation Fund, Project A, Air Street Capital, 201 Ventures, Advent and Döpfner Capital as investors, and says the money will fund new electronic-warfare research facilities and more manufacturing capacity. It does not report who led, the valuation or the total raised. DroneXL, citing The Next Web, says Sequoia and Founders Fund led at a valuation of about €3.5 billion ($3.65 billion), with €660 million raised in total.

Stark says it aims to produce “thousands of unmanned systems each month.” The Defense Post describes this as a goal, not current output. It also reports a 2,000 square metre research hub in Ukraine with more than 200 specialists, a regional office in Greece, and plans for a Stockholm electronic-warfare hub announced in January.

The Bundeswehr contract

In February 2026 Stark and Helsing each won an initial €269 million Bundeswehr order for loitering munitions, DroneXL reported, citing Bloomberg, DW and Reuters. Reuters reported that the long-term framework was cut from €4.3 billion to €2 billion, and DroneXL says lawmakers capped each company at €1 billion. The drones are meant for the 45th Armoured Brigade in Lithuania. DroneXL says the Bundeswehr modified both companies' systems and that neither has been combat-tested.

Trial reports

In October 2025 the Financial Times reported that Virtus failed to score a legitimate hit in four strike attempts during trials with British and German forces. According to Wikipedia's summary of that report, one drone lost control and crashed in woodland in Germany, and a battery caught fire after an impact in Kenya. Stark said crashes are part of testing and, per Wikipedia, said its drones had crashed “a hundred times” during development.

In May 2026 Stark said Virtus, paired with its Minerva command-and-control software, worked reliably in German Armed Forces exercises and shortened the time between spotting and striking a target. The Defense Post notes those results come only from the company and give no figures.

Ownership

Peter Thiel is among Stark's backers. Sebastian Schäfer, the Greens' defense budget specialist, demanded transparency on Stark's ownership, DroneXL reported. A confidential German Defense Ministry report to lawmakers says Thiel holds only a passive minority stake through Thiel Capital with no operational authority, DroneXL says. Stark says Thiel owns less than 10% and has no special voting rights.

Sources and notes

Sources: The Defense Post on the round, DroneXL on the round, DroneXL on the Bundeswehr contract, The Defense Post on the May trial and Wikipedia: Stark, which carries a promotional-content maintenance tag. Lens did not confirm the DroneXL-reported lead investors, valuation and total raised against a primary source. None of the sources reviewed gives the contract's delivery schedule, Stark's headcount or independent test data for Virtus. The Defense Post lists Virtus's range as above 130 km and its endurance as up to 90 minutes; Wikipedia lists a 60-minute flight time. Related: Helsing raises $1.8 billion at an $18 billion valuation and Quantum Systems raises $1.2 billion at an $8 billion valuation.

Image: Reichstagsgebäude von Westen.jpg by Jörg Braukmann, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons; cropped. The Reichstag is the seat of the Bundestag, whose budget committee approved the contracts. Illustrative photo; it does not show Stark's products or the events described.