Anduril in Talks to Sell Insider Shares at Roughly $90 Billion Valuation

Anduril Industries Inc. is allowing employees to sell shares as part of a tender that stands to value the defense technology startup at roughly $90 billion, according to people familiar with the situation who asked not to be identified because the plans aren’t public.The tender would give employees the chance to sell shares at $94.80 each, with the overall size of the offer capped at about $1.3 billion, according to people briefed on the matter, who asked not to be identified discussing private details. The tender offer opened on Oct. 13 and is set to close Nov. 9, one of the people said.

A representative for Anduril declined to comment.

Anduril, already among the most valuable defense tech startups in the world, was co-founded in 2017 by the billionaire entrepreneur Palmer Luckey and supplies a range of AI-powered products for defense including unmanned fighter aircraft and autonomy software, surveillance tools and augmented reality helmets for the military. Its valuation doubled to $61 billion in a May funding round with governments around the world pouring money into efforts to upgrade their warfare capabilities.

The company, which counts the US Defense Department among its largest customers, generated $2.2 billion in revenue last year.

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The defense tech company has regularly held tenders for employees, an increasingly common way for startups staying private longer to give workers liquidity. Anduril is making the latest tender offer available to employees in 16 countries for the first time, according one of the people briefed on the matter. In previous tenders, employees in the US, UK and Australia were eligible to participate, the person said.

The tender is open to current and former Anduril employees, one of the people briefed on the matter said.

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In the May fundraising round, Anduril raised $5 billion in a round led by Thrive Capital and Andreessen Horowitz. Founders Fund is also a big backer of the company and counts Anduril co-founder Trae Stephens among its partners.