Defense tech startup Anduril Industries CEO Brian Schimpf said he would “absolutely” consider locating the company’s next weapons manufacturing hub outside the United States.

"When you look across Europe, there's a lot of manufacturing talent that exists," Schimpf told Bloomberg during the Founders Forum. The U.S. and Europe need to expand their defense manufacturing capabilities to secure a more reliable supply of weapons, cautioning that both have "undervalued" manufacturing in comparison to China.

Anduril is already in the midst of building its first facility in Ohio, and has not announced firm plans to build another facility elsewhere, the outlet reported.

The company debuted its Arsenal-1 weapons manufacturing plant earlier this year, beginning with its Fury combat aircraft. Schrimpf compared the production process to getting punched in the face, he told Bloomberg. 

The U.S. Department of Defense remains Anduril's largest customer. As the company pushed to expand across Europe, it is targeting a region ramping up military spending in response to growing threats from Russia, according to the report. With transatlantic ties under strain, much of that spending is being directed toward domestic defense firms. 

To strengthen its foothold, Anduril has offered to co-fund European defense initiatives and has forged partnerships with major defense contractors in the U.K., German and Poland.

Last month it was announced that Anduril Industries and LMI were launching a three-month Rapid Development Pilot aimed at building targeted capabilities for the U.S. Army Next Generation Command and Control (NGC2) environment. The effort will focus on developing and testing “combat-ready” applications designed to be distributed across the Army enterprise through the NGC2 ecosystem.

Anduril's recent Series H funding round, which raised $5 billion and doubled the company's valuation to $61 billion, underscores the growing importance of defense technology. The company's growth, driven by AI-powered autonomous systems and surging revenue, reflects the increasing reliance on advanced defense systems in modern warfare.

Schimpf has declined to provide a timeline regarding the company's potential for an IPO. But noted that the company is "growing like crazy" in a market fueled by strong investor enthusiasm and sees no need to go public.

The rapid rise of defense-tech firms such as Anduril and Shield AI reflects a new era of geopolitical rivalry. The sector's growth is being driven by escalating global tensions and record military spending, which reached $2.89 trillion in 2025.

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