Virtus

Virtus is the autonomous loitering munition built by Berlin-based Stark Defence and the product behind one of the fastest defence-company valuations in European history. The system identifies and strikes targets autonomously before detonating, with a range of over 130 kilometres and an endurance of up to 90 minutes. In February 2026 the German Bundeswehr awarded Stark and fellow startup Helsing contracts worth approximately €269 million each to supply Virtus drones to the 45th Armoured Brigade stationed in Lithuania, the first major German armed-forces order for the system. Stark is in talks to raise €500 million led by Sequoia and Founders Fund at a valuation above €3.5 billion, more than triple its €1 billion mark from February 2026.

Stark Defence was founded in 2024 by Florian Seibel and Johannes Schaback. Seibel previously founded Quantum Systems, a German drone maker. The company is headquartered in Berlin and has grown rapidly by targeting the European NATO market's urgent demand for organic loitering-munition capability. Despite no demonstrated volume production as of mid-2026, Stark's combination of a Bundeswehr framework contract and USD-denominated venture capital from Peter Thiel's Founders Fund places it in an unusual position: a European defence startup being priced on American venture terms before it has shipped at scale.

Virtus sits at the intersection of two structural trends reshaping European defence procurement: the shift from institutional loyalty to delivery proof at price, and the influx of Silicon Valley capital into sovereign-capability programmes. The system directly competes with Israeli and Turkish loitering munitions that have dominated the market since 2020. Its performance in Bundeswehr acceptance trials will set a benchmark for whether European alternatives can displace established imports across the NATO alliance.