Defense tech startup Covenant announced Wednesday the opening of a 105,000-square-foot factory in Dallas, as the company moves to accelerate lower-cost missile manufacturing for the U.S. military and exits stealth mode.
The startup, which is backed by Andreessen Horowitz, Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund, Lux, 8VC, Aleph and Lightspeed, also revealed $250 million in funding raised across three rounds, according to the company.
New entrant targeting legacy missile market
Founded in 2024, Covenant’s Anthem long-range heavy-payload cruise missiles are positioned as an alternative to systems dominated by defense primes, such as RTX’s Tomahawk. Covenant said the Anthem is available at a fraction of the cost of legacy systems.
The company said the Dallas factory will produce 1,000 Anthem missiles in its first year, with serial production beginning in the first quarter of 2027, eventually scaling to 5,000 missiles annually.
That output is needed as the war in Iran stretches into its seventh month and U.S. weapons stockpiles dwindle, according to multiple reports cited by the company.
Abby Denburg, Covenant’s president and chief growth officer, told CNBC’s Morgan Brennan that there is a growing understanding that new market entrants can play a critical role in the defense ecosystem, adding that this view is reflected in the current administration.
Denburg highlighted the need for high-tech weapons systems alongside the rise of short-range, low-payload drones in the Russia-Ukraine war. “There is a gap in the middle of that for affordable mass and strategic range, and that’s the gap that Anthem was filling,” she said, emphasizing that the company aims to lower costs without compromising payloads.
DoD deals and expanding footprint
Covenant also announced two Department of Defense agreements on Wednesday: one to accelerate a test and qualification program with the Army, and another with the Navy to adapt the Anthem for maritime use.
The Washington-based company operates production facilities in Germany and Northern Israel and has more than 200 employees worldwide.
Covenant’s emergence is another example of defense tech’s growing leverage in capital markets and its role in reshaping policy and procurement.
Thiel, who co-founded PayPal and Palantir, has seen his influence in Washington rise following President Donald Trump’s election. Thiel backed Trump’s 2016 campaign and supported JD Vance’s Senate run in 2022. Vance previously worked at venture capital firm Mithril Capital, which Thiel co-founded.
Marc Andreessen, whose stature has climbed during Trump’s second term, was appointed to the Pentagon’s defense policy board this summer, alongside Thiel Capital’s Blake Masters. This year, Andreessen also launched a multibillion-dollar fund dedicated entirely to U.S. aerospace and defense.
Source: www.cnbc.com — https://www.cnbc.com/2026/09/09/defense-tech-covenant-anthem-missile.html
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