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Austin-based defense startup Saronic has raised a $600 million Series C to build an autonomous ship factory called \u201cPort Alpha,\u201d it announced<\/a> yesterday, quadrupling its valuation to $4 billion from its last round<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Investor Elad Gil led the round, with General Catalyst joining existing investors Andreessen Horowitz, 8VC, and Caffeinated Capital, among others.<\/p>\n That should make Saronic the second, possibly third, most valuable defense tech startup in the U.S. after Anduril\u2019s last round valued it at $14 billion<\/a>. Shield AI could beat that, though, as it is reportedly<\/a> in talks to hit a $5 billion valuation on a new round of funding. (Anduril is in talks to raise again at double its valuation, to $28 billion<\/a>.)<\/p>\n Saronic isn\u2019t the only defense tech darling with big manufacturing ambitions: Anduril, for example, announced plans<\/a> to build a billion-dollar megafactory in Ohio last month. <\/p>\n Saronic hasn\u2019t found a site for Port Alpha yet but is actively searching, a spokesperson confirmed to TechCrunch.\u00a0Operations at the port, which Saronic is calling the \u2018shipyard of the future<\/a>,\u2019 are slated to begin within five years, Saronic\u2019s co-founder and CEO Dino Mavrookas told Defense News<\/a>.<\/p>\n Saronic has already developed three models of autonomous surface vessels (ASVs) that are up to 24 feet long \u2013 about half as long as a modern lifeboat. But Saronic says<\/a> the factory will also build large unmanned ships, while bolstering U.S. shipbuilding capacity compared to China.<\/p>\n Unmanned ships are a hot trend in naval warfare, in part thanks to Ukraine\u2019s successful use of drone ships to drive the Russian Navy out of Crimea<\/a>, despite Ukraine having effectively no manned navy of its own.<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n Saronic has now raised almost $850 million, Mavrookas said on CNBC<\/a>, attributing the quadrupled valuation to Saronic\u2019s speed at developing new vessels and software.<\/p>\n Saronic\u2019s raise is the latest sign that defense tech continues to hit new highs<\/a> in Silicon Valley, buoyed by similar monster rounds.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n