Hadrian Automation, an AI-powered defense factory startup, is reportedly in talks to raise $1bn at a $7.5bn valuation — up from $1.6bn just five months ago — though the company calls the reported figure inaccurate. The story illustrates the investor frenzy around 'physical AI' and US reindustrialisation. Hadrian builds AI-driven factories making aerospace and defense components, backed by a $2.4bn US Navy submarine contract. Its Opus software automates manufacturing and inspection, and its factories run at 65–80% utilisation versus an industry baseline of ~10%. Backers include Founders Fund, a16z, and Altimeter. The piece also notes caution: valuations are running far ahead of revenues, and factory-building is capital-intensive, slow work ill-suited to software-style multiples.
