Anduril Tender Offer Puts $90 Billion Value on Defense Startup

By Daniel Okafor

Anduril Industries is preparing an employee tender offer that would value the defense technology startup at $90 billion, CNBC reports. That figure comes from a single transaction: staff selling shares to outside buyers at a price that sets the company's implied worth.

The number matters because it sets a market price. Private companies do not trade on an exchange. Their valuation moves only when someone pays for a slice of the company in a funding round or a tender. This deal is the second kind — a liquidity event for employees rather than new cash for the business.

What is a tender offer?

A tender offer lets employees sell vested stock to investors. The company authorizes the sale. Buyers purchase existing shares, not newly issued ones. Staff get cash. The buyer gets a stake at a fixed price per share. That price, multiplied across all shares, produces the $90 billion headline value.

Startups run these deals for a simple reason. Employees at mature private firms hold shares they cannot sell anywhere else. A tender gives them an exit without forcing the company to list on a stock exchange. It also lets the company reward staff in a tight market for defense-engineering talent.

Why does the $90 billion figure matter?

The price tag marks another step up for Anduril, founded in 2017 by Palmer Luckey. The company builds autonomous weapons, surveillance software and air-defense systems. It has raised capital at a fast clip as Washington shifts budgets toward software-defined military hardware.

CNBC's report gives one anchor: $90 billion as the implied value under the planned offer. That is the figure investors, rivals and analysts will use when they size the company against public defense primes such as Lockheed Martin and against other venture-backed defense firms, including SpaceX-adjacent players in the space.

For context, few private companies anywhere have crossed the $90 billion line. The club includes SpaceX and a handful of the largest AI developers. Anduril would sit near the top of the private market if the tender closes at that price.

What comes next?

The offer still needs buyers at the stated price. Tender talks can shift or stall before shares change hands. A completed deal at $90 billion would signal that institutional investors accept Anduril's growth story at that scale — and would set the reference price for any future fundraising round or public listing decision by the company's board.

The deal, if completed, also pressures Anduril's competitors in defense technology. Venture investors have poured money into the sector since 2022. A $90 billion marker gives those rivals a benchmark and gives their backers a reason to demand clearer paths to similar valuations.