Southern California defense tech darling Anduril Industries has struck a deal to buy Orange County space surveillance firm ExoAnalytic Solutions.<\/p>\n
The purchase for an undisclosed sum is meant to boost Anduril\u2019s capabilities in space domain awareness, battle management and fire control. <\/p>\n
With the deal, Anduril will absorb ExoAnalytic\u2019s network of 400 commercial telescopes around the world, missile defense software and simulation and tracking algorithms.<\/p>\n
It will \u201csignificantly scale the impact that we will be able to provide for national security missions,\u201d the company said in a statement Tuesday announcing it had signed a \u201cdefinitive agreement\u201d to acquire ExoAnalytic. <\/p>\n
\u201cWith Exo onboard, Anduril will ensure that our warfighters have the tools required to maintain comprehensive situational awareness of the space domain, delivering a decisive advantage to counter rapidly-evolving threats,\u201d the statement read. <\/p>\n
Anduril, which develops drones, missiles, robotic submarines and autonomous fighter jets, was founded in 2017 by Peter Thiel prot\u00e9g\u00e9 Palmer Luckey.<\/p>\n
Its Costa Mesa headquarters are located in the shell of a former printing press<\/a> for the Los Angeles Times.<\/p>\n The company plans to break ground on a sprawling $1-billion campus<\/a> near the Long Beach Airport by midyear. In 2025, the company announced plans to spend $1 billion on its first \u201cArsenal\u201d manufacturing plant<\/a> in Ohio.<\/p>\n The company was valued<\/a> at $30.5 billion last year and had more than 6,000 employees. The company is in talks to raise new funding at a valuation of more than $60 billion, the Information<\/a> has reported.<\/p>\n ExoAnalytic was founded in 2008 and headquartered in Foothill Ranch in Orange County. Founded by three physicists, the company at first focused on missile-tracking algorithms but later pivoted to build what it has described as the \u201cworld\u2019s largest commercial optical telescope network.\u201d<\/p>\n Both Anduril and ExoAnalytic Solutions are privately held and did not disclose terms of the deal, which still has to pass regulatory muster.<\/p>\n Defense tech startups like Anduril are quickly expanding in the hopes of winning government contracts for President Trump\u2019s proposed $175-billion \u201cGolden Dome\u201d<\/a> satellite missile defense system to protect the entire U.S. from attacks by land, sea and space.<\/p>\n California has been at the forefront of the modern-day space race.<\/p>\n In Central California, Vandenberg Space Force Base<\/a> in January announced plans for a $900-million infrastructure overhaul as it prepares to handle a surge in rocket launches.<\/p>\n