Stealth Startup Emerges with Massive Defense Funding
After two years of strict operational silence, defense startup Covenant has officially emerged from stealth. The Washington-based firm, led by Israeli-American founder Michael Kaufman, confirmed it has raised over $250 million across three funding rounds. The company now holds a valuation exceeding $1 billion, backed by prominent investors including Andreessen Horowitz, Founders Fund, Lux Capital, 8VC, Aleph, and Lightspeed.
This funding surge highlights a growing interest in the American defense industrial base, specifically regarding the production of precision-guided long-range munitions. Covenant designed its flagship system, a heavy-payload cruise missile named Anthem, to fill critical gaps in Western weapon stockpiles. Unlike complex legacy systems that often carry high price tags and long lead times, Anthem focuses on affordability and rapid scalability. The company aims for production numbers in the thousands.
Technical Capabilities and Military Contracts
Anthem functions as an end-to-end weapon solution. Its design covers the entire operational chain, from storage and transportation to launch and target planning. By relying on commercial off-the-shelf components, Covenant keeps costs low while maintaining hardware availability. The company also integrated its own command-and-control software to facilitate coordinated mass launches, a feature intended to overwhelm defensive systems.
Covenant already possesses significant commercial momentum. The company reports approximately $150 million in booked orders, encompassing research, development, and active production contracts. A notable development includes an Other Transaction Agreement with the U.S. Army for an accelerated testing cycle. Additionally, the U.S. Navy’s Rapid Capabilities Office has engaged Covenant to develop a "Maritime Anthem" variant. This naval project, valued at roughly $70 million, includes a cost-share component and specific features to simplify exports to international allies.
Industrial Footprint and Global Production Strategy
Manufacturing takes place across three continents to ensure supply chain security. The company recently opened a 105,000-square-foot facility in Dallas, Texas. This site is scheduled to begin serial production in early 2027 with a target output of 5,000 units per year. Other production and development sites operate in Northern Israel and Saxony, Germany.
These facilities are a response to recent conflicts, where long-range precision munitions were exhausted faster than existing industrial bases could replenish them. Kaufman argues that deterrence depends on maintaining deep stockpiles capable of surviving a long, high-intensity engagement. "When you look at our adversaries, you see thousands of hardened targets, beyond the range of current capabilities," Kaufman said. "Anthem was built to credibly hold those targets at risk in a prolonged conflict. If our stockpiles run thin, so does our deterrence."
Industry Outlook and Future Hurdles
Since the first test flight in August 2025, the team has performed more than 200 test flights to refine the system. Representatives from several countries, including Germany, observed a live-fire test conducted in Israel this past June. The company continues to recruit aggressively in the U.S., Germany, and Israel to scale its engineering and program-management teams.
David Ulevitch, a general partner at Andreessen Horowitz, emphasized the strategic necessity behind the investment. He noted that rebuilding the long-range strike arsenal represents a primary objective for national security. As the defense sector watches the transition from prototyping to mass manufacturing, the success of Covenant will hinge on its ability to sustain production at the stated volumes. The broader industry shift toward high-volume precision manufacturing remains a major focal point for military planners across the West.