Best Defense Contractors Companies in California, United States
The 98 best Defense Contractors companies in California, United States in 2026, ranked by funding and momentum. Funding, investors, founders, valuation, tech stack and live signals. Top: Kratos.
Ranked: Best Defense Contractors companies in California
| # | Company | Disclosed funding | Last round | Stage | Founder | Founded | Tech stack | Patents & IP focus | Recent signals |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kratos Provider of AI and cloud-based platforms and products for national security 78Product top 14%Funding top 24%Market top 26%Fin. health top 27% All 11 signals ▾Producttop 14% Fundingtop 24% Markettop 26% Fin. healthtop 27% Innovationtop 41% Techtop 41% Growthtop 43% Moattop 43% Globaltop 44% Patentstop 46% Newsbottom 49% Product: 12 distinct product lines · Company stage: Public Funding: Raised $947M across 11 rounds · 11 rounds over 19 yrs (0.6/yr) rank vs industry peers · Fliar Intelligence Index 78/100 | $947M | 54 mo ago | Public | — | 1994 | DrupalApple iCloud MailPHP+26 | 48 patents Silicon‑based group IVA anode materials for high‑performance lithium‑ion batteries | — |
| 2 | Amca Provider of aerospace and defense products, scaling to meet industry needs 62Funding top 15%Talent top 28%Tech top 49%Global bottom 33% All 4 signals ▾Fundingtop 15% Talenttop 28% Techtop 49% Globalbottom 33% Funding: Raised $376M across 2 rounds · 2 rounds over 1 yrs (2.0/yr) Talent: 3 named leaders on record · 3 C-suite/founder profiles curated rank vs industry peers · Fliar Intelligence Index 62/100 | $376M | 1 mo ago | Series B | Saad Mobarak Co-Founder | Prev @ Apple & Tesla | 2024 | TurbopackNode.jsTailwind CSS+11 | — | — |
| 3 | Teledyne Manufacturer of electric and electronic components 57Funding top 28%Market top 30%News top 31%Product top 39% All 11 signals ▾Fundingtop 28% Markettop 30% Newstop 31% Producttop 39% Fin. healthtop 40% Techtop 44% Growthtop 46% Moatbottom 42% Globalbottom 38% Patentsbottom 37% Innovationbottom 35% Funding: Raised $200M · 1 rounds over 14 yrs (0.1/yr) Market: 14,900 employees (top 8% of Aerospace, Maritime and Defense) · Revenue ~$6.1B rank vs industry peers · Fliar Intelligence Index 57/100 | $200M | 11 mo ago | Public | — | 1960 | Microsoft SharePointApple iCloud MailSalesforce+9 | 2 patents Medical linear accelerator technology for precise multi-dose radiation therapy | — |
| 4 | Scout AI AI-powered robotic systems for defense and related applications 53Funding top 19%AI top 25%Growth top 35%Moat top 48% All 10 signals ▾Fundingtop 19% AItop 25% Growthtop 35% Moattop 48% Techbottom 49% Talentbottom 49% Globalbottom 44% Innovationbottom 38% Patentsbottom 37% Marketbottom 35% Funding: Raised $115M across 2 rounds · 2 rounds over 1 yrs (2.0/yr) AI: Classified as an AI company · Holds AI/ML patents (G06N-family CPC) rank vs industry peers · Fliar Intelligence Index 53/100 | $115M | 1 mo ago | Series A | Collin Otis Co-Founder & CTO | 2024 | SanityNode.jsThree.js+13 | 3 patents Advanced hyperspectral imaging sensors and adjustable hitch mechanisms for vehicles | — |
| 5 | Calcreek Developer of high-power microwave sources, components, and related technology 55Innovation top 20%Funding top 44%Product top 46%Global bottom 25% All 5 signals ▾Innovationtop 20% Fundingtop 44% Producttop 46% Globalbottom 25% Techbottom 22% Innovation: 6 product lines Funding: Raised $33.4M across 33 rounds · 33 rounds over 19 yrs (1.7/yr) rank vs industry peers · Fliar Intelligence Index 55/100 | $33M | 11 mo ago | Funding Raised | — | 1996 | — | — | — |
| 6 | CX2 Developer of AI-enabled hardware and software for electromagnetic spectrum detection and defense 67Talent top 28%Funding top 33%Growth top 35%Tech bottom 38% All 5 signals ▾Talenttop 28% Fundingtop 33% Growthtop 35% Techbottom 38% Globalbottom 33% Talent: 4 named leaders on record · 4 C-suite/founder profiles curated Funding: Raised $31.0M across 1 rounds · 1 rounds over 1 yrs (1.0/yr) rank vs industry peers · Fliar Intelligence Index 67/100 | $31M | 12 mo ago | Series A | Lee Thompson Co-Founder | 2024 | WebflowGSAPUnpkg+9 | — | 1 partnership · 1 expansion · 1 award |
| 7 | Calnetix Provider of high-speed electric motor generators, drives, and magnetic bearing systems | $22M | 139 mo ago | Series B | Larry Hawkins Co-Founder | 1998 | Node.jsErlangSalesforce+11 | 33 patents Advanced electric machines, magnetic bearings, and turbocharger control systems | 5 job openings |
| 8 | Castelion 🦄 Defense company applying modern hardware development and manufacturing processes to national security… 67Talent top 28%Funding top 32%News top 37%Growth top 40% All 8 signals ▾Talenttop 28% Fundingtop 32% Newstop 37% Growthtop 40% Techtop 43% Moattop 47% Markettop 50% Globalbottom 36% Talent: 4 named leaders on record · 4 C-suite/founder profiles curated Funding: Raised $14.2M across 5 rounds · 5 rounds over 3 yrs (1.7/yr) rank vs industry peers · Fliar Intelligence Index 67/100 | $14M | 11 mo ago | Series B | Andrew Kreitz Co-Founder & CFO | 2022 | WordPressApple iCloud MailMySQL+16 | — | 1 partnership · 1 expansion |
| 9 | Aurelius Systems Developer of directed energy systems for unmanned aerial system defense 48Growth top 28%Talent top 38%Funding top 39%Tech top 50% All 6 signals ▾Growthtop 28% Talenttop 38% Fundingtop 39% Techtop 50% Globalbottom 45% Marketbottom 31% Growth: Web rank 50,000,000 → 10,000,000 YoY · Fresh capital in last 24 mo Talent: 2 named leaders on record · 2 C-suite/founder profiles curated rank vs industry peers · Fliar Intelligence Index 48/100 | $10M | 11 mo ago | Seed | Michael Laframboise Co-Founder & CEO | 2024 | Cart FunctionalitySquarespace CommerceSquarespace+12 | — | 2 job openings |
| 10 | Iris Technology Innovative engineering solutions for aerospace, defense, and power systems | $1M | 264 mo ago | Early Stage | — | 1986 | Cart FunctionalitySquarespace CommerceSquarespace+25 | 38 patents Metadata enrichment and optimized delivery of digital media assets | 3 launchs |
| 11 | Phase III Physics Developer of advanced research and development solutions for critical technologies | $826K | 14 mo ago | Funding Raised | Chris Haddock Founder & CEO | 2022 | — | — | — |
| 12 | Ravyn Manufacturer of lower cost missile systems for government defense contracts | $400K | 79 mo ago | Seed | Saaketh Kanikicharla Founder & CFO | 2019 | — | — | — |
Top 12 Defense Contractors companies in California
#1
Series B · El Segundo, California · founded 2024$376Mraised▾
Provider of aerospace and defense products, scaling to meet industry needs. The company acquires and develops critical products for these sectors. It focuses on unified engineering and manufacturing processes. The company emphasizes responsiveness and transparency with its customers. It deploys engineering and manufacturing talent to assist customers with product development.
- May 2026Series B$300M
- Apr 2025Series A$76M
#2
Series A · Sunnyvale, California · founded 2024$115Mraised▾
AI-powered robotic systems for defense and related applications. It enables natural language commands, robot-to-robot coordination, and mission-adaptive autonomy without cloud connectivity. Its technology enables unmanned platforms to perform tasks using vision, language, and action models. Its systems are designed for deployment across various domains. It focuses on creating adaptable and generalized decision-making capabilities for robotic systems.
- Apr 2026Series A$100M
- Apr 2025Seed$15M
#3
Public · Thousand Oaks, California · founded 1960 · 14900 employees$200Mraised▾
Teledyne provides instrumentation, digital imaging, electronic components for various industries. The company's products include monitoring and control instrumentation for marine and environmental applications, harsh environment interconnects, electronic test and measurement equipment, digital imaging sensors and cameras, aircraft information management systems, and defense electronics and satellite communication subsystems.The company's markets include deepwater oil and gas exploration and production, oceanographic research, air and water quality environmental monitoring, electronics design and development, factory automation and medical imaging. In 2022, the company recorded annual revenues of $5.52B and a net profit of $0.75B.
#4
Funding Raised · San Mateo, California · founded 1996$33.4Mraised▾
Developer of high-power microwave sources, components, and related technology. The company focuses on research, design, and development in the field of microwave technology. It provides expertise in areas such as gyrotrons and klystrons. The company contributes to advancements in microwave technology through research and development efforts.
- Jun 2025Grant (prize money)$184.3K
- Jul 2023Grant (prize money)$1.3M
- Feb 2021Grant (prize money)$136.3K
- Jul 2019Grant (prize money)$2.4M
#5
Series A · El Segundo, California · founded 2024$31Mraised▾
Developer of AI-enabled hardware and software for electromagnetic spectrum detection and defense. It builds platforms that detect, disrupt, and defend the electromagnetic spectrum across land, air, sea, and space. The company's systems illuminate the invisible battlefield by discovering and tracking emitters. It locates and classifies emitters, and enables rapid kinetic responses to threats. The company's hardware is orchestrated by AI-first software that cues mission data, enables visualization, and empowers operators to conduct electronic warfare operations.
- May 2025Series A$31M
#6
Series B · El Segundo, California · founded 2022$14.2Mraised▾
It is a modern defense production company that specializes in building advanced military hypersonic, vehicle, and strike systems for future war deterrence. They apply modern hardware development and manufacturing processes to address national security challenges.
- Jul 2025Series B$360M
- Jan 2025Series A$70M
- Jan 2025Venture Debt$30M
- Nov 2024Series A$60M
#7
Seed · San Francisco, California · founded 2024$10Mraised▾
Developer of directed energy systems for unmanned aerial system defense. It provides modular laser defense systems designed for battlefield deployment. Its system utilize sensors to identify and track targets.
- Jul 2025Seed$10M
#8
Public · San Diego, California · founded 1994 · 3900 employees$946.7Mraised▾
Provider of AI and cloud-based platforms and products for national security. It provides users with products and services for national security in the domains of command, control, communications, computing and combat systems, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance. Its divisions include defence, rocket support services, microwave electronics, modular systems, public safety and security, technology and training, and unmanned systems. Its primary end customers are national security-related agencies.
- Nov 2021Grant (prize money)—
- Apr 2021Grant (prize money)—
- Nov 2017Conventional Debt$300M
- May 2014Conventional Debt$625M
#9
Funding Raised · Los Angeles, California · founded 2022$825.9Kraised▾
Developer of advanced research and development solutions for critical technologies. It delivers fabrication and materials synthesis, transforming research concepts into functional components. The company provides high-volume manufacturing capabilities for advanced technologies, ensuring secure supply chains.
- Apr 2025Grant (prize money)$206.5K
- Apr 2025Grant (prize money)$206.5K
- Feb 2024Grant (prize money)$206.5K
- Feb 2023Grant (prize money)$206.4K
#10
Series B · Cerritos, California · founded 1998 · 56 employees$22.4Mraised▾
Provider of high-speed electric motor generators, drives, and magnetic bearing systems. The company delivers electromagnetic drive solutions, power conversion, and electrification technologies for various applications. These applications include defense, aerospace, industrial, and energy sectors. The company offers products such as variable frequency drives, active and passive magnetic bearings, and magnetic bearing controllers. It also provides turbomachinery solutions for hydrogen and other industries.
- Nov 2014Series B$4.3M
- Jun 2013Series B$5.7M
- Jun 2013Series B$2.4M
- Aug 2011Grant (prize money)$945.8K
#11
Early Stage · Irvine, California · founded 1986 · 53 employees$1.3Mraised▾
Innovative engineering solutions for aerospace, defense, and power systems. The company delivers cutting-edge electronics and power solutions for mission-critical applications. Specializing in aerospace control electronics, imaging systems, tactical power adapters, vehicle-mounted power generation, hybrid power systems, and tactical lighting, they provide comprehensive engineering services. Their expertise includes technical risk mitigation, faster development time, and a reputation built over many years. They offer solutions for demanding environments, ensuring reliability and durability. The company focuses on helping partners achieve mission success through advanced technologies and rigorous testing. They provide innovative engineering solutions for the aerospace and defense industries.
- 2004Unattributed$1.3M
#12
Seed · Mountain View, California · founded 2019$400Kraised▾
Manufacturer of lower cost missile systems for government defense contracts. The company focused on providing cost-efficient alternatives for national security. It aimed to offer economically viable solutions without compromising military power and deterrence. Post-sale support, maintenance, spare parts, and training services were likely provided. The company ceased operations after failing to secure further funding.
- Nov 2019Seed$400K
Funding & investor landscape
Notable founders
Market landscape — 10 sub-themes by coverage
Share of Defense Contractors coverage by sub-theme.
Regulatory-risk over time rising
Funding & growth over time
funding rising · growth rising
What California researches in defense tech
Sandia National Laboratories, UC Berkeley, and UCLA lead California's defense-tech research, focusing on nuclear issues and military systems with a contested tone (mean stance 0.26, concerns slightly outweighing breakthroughs).
- Sandia National Laboratories California6
- University of California, Berkeley3
- University of California, Los Angeles3
- University of Southern California2
- University of California, Davis2
Common questions
Rohit lives in the feed. He covers what's moving right now — the funding rounds, launches and shifts breaking across the trade press — and ties them back to where the sector is heading.