How many total Aerospace, Maritime and Defense companies are there?

As of Aug 2026, there are 36,951 active companies in Aerospace, Maritime and Defense sector.

Which countries have the most Aerospace, Maritime and Defense companies?

United States (7,136) has the highest number of Aerospace, Maritime and Defense companies, followed by United Kingdom (2,926) and India (2,029).

How many Aerospace, Maritime and Defense companies are funded?

As of Aug 2026, 2,482 companies in this sector have received funding.

Which company has raised the most funding in Aerospace, Maritime and Defense sector?

As of Aug 2026, K2 Space has secured $1B in funding, making it the highest-funded company in the Aerospace, Maritime and Defense sector.

Which country has attracted the most investment in Aerospace, Maritime and Defense companies?

With $29.5B in total funding, United States has attracted the most investment among Aerospace, Maritime and Defense companies.

How much venture capital has Aerospace, Maritime and Defense sector attracted?

In the last 10 years, venture capital firms have invested $5.64B in this sector.

How many unicorns has Aerospace, Maritime and Defense sector produced?

Globally, there are 4 unicorns in Aerospace, Maritime and Defense sector, to date.

Aerospace, Maritime and Defense - 2026 Market & Investments Trends

Q: Who are the top investors in Aerospace, Maritime and Defense companies?

The top investors in Aerospace, Maritime and Defense companies by number of investments are Europa, Military Health and NASA

Companies included in Aerospace, Maritime and Defense sector

It includes defense contractors and traditional aircraft and ship manufacturers. It also includes companies providing services to the aerospace, maritime and defense industry stakeholders

Companies excluded in Aerospace, Maritime and Defense sector

It excludes companies manufacturing advanced aircraft, spacecraft, ships and military equipment. It also excludes companies that provide software solutions to aircraft, spacecraft, ship manufacturers, and sellers as well as to the defense industry and those providing them with tech heavy hardware and advanced materials

Key Metrics

Total Companies

37.3K

Top Companies

Thales, Paras Defence & Space Technologies & more

Total Funding

Funded Companies

Series A+ Companies

Series C+ Companies

Unicorns Created

IPOs

736

Acquisitions

1.57K

Also known as

Traditional Defense and Transport or Aerospace & Ship Building

View complete details of this sector

The market map of Aerospace, Maritime and Defense gives a visual overview of the sector, showing key business models, their interactions in the value chain, and industry evolution.

Recent BlueBox/Industry Definition image of Aerospace, Maritime and Defense

There are more than 37.3K companies in Aerospace, Maritime and Defense. Thales is the top Aerospace, Maritime and Defense company globally, ranked using Tracxn Score (what's this?).

Here are 5 of the top Aerospace, Maritime and Defense companies globally:

Company	Description	Location	Founded	Current Stage	Private Funding Raised
Thales	AI-based software suites for navigation applications	Paris (France)	1893	Public	-
Paras Defence & Space Technologies	Company offering wide range of defence products & solutions	Navi Mumbai (India)	1972	Public	$4.57M
Northrop Grumman	Provider of non-combat aircraft systems for aerospace and defense industries	Falls Church (United States)	1939	Public	-
NASA	Provider of government space exploration & research and news services	United States	1958	Funding Raised	-
Airbus Official	Manufacturer of commercial aircraft, helicopters, satellites, and launch vehicles	Blagnac (France)	2000	Public	-

Get a longer list of companies

Companies founded year-on-year in the Aerospace, Maritime and Defense sector

346 new startups have been founded so far in 2026 in the Aerospace, Maritime and Defense sector. 676 Aerospace, Maritime and Defense startups were founded in 2020 - this is the most number of startups founded in any year in the last 10 years.

Total Number of Companies

Year	No. of companies
2026	346
2025	71
2024	95
2023	422
2022	563
2021	563
2020	676
2019	635
2018	615
2017	446

Companies founded across countries in the Aerospace, Maritime and Defense sector

United States has 7,136 Aerospace, Maritime and Defense startups, the most by any country, followed by United Kingdom which has 2,926 startups and India which has 2,029.

Total Number of Companies

Country	No. of companies
United States	7,136
United Kingdom	2,926
India	2,029
Germany	1,103
Canada	671
Australia	584
China	519
Netherlands	488
France	448
Italy	444

Stage-wise distribution of the Aerospace, Maritime and Defense sector

Out of the total 37,252 Aerospace, Maritime and Defense companies, 2,482 have secured funding. Among them, 2,523 have reached Series A or higher, and 2,408 to Series B or beyond.

Founded - 37,252

Funded - 2,482

Series A+ - 2,523

Series B+ - 2,408

Series C+ - 2,358

Company Stage	No. of companies
Founded	37,252
Funded	2,482
Series A+	2,523
Series B+	2,408
Series C+	2,358

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37.3K+ Total Companies
$80.2B+ Total Funding
2.5K+ Funded Companies
735+ IPOs
1.6K+ Acquisitions
5+ Reports

Total funding year-on-year in the Aerospace, Maritime and Defense sector

The Aerospace, Maritime and Defense sector saw a total funding of more than $50.6B in the last 10 years. The most amount of funding was in 2019 at more than $18.7B. There has been a total funding of $4.19B in 2026 till date.

Total Funding

Year	Total Funding
2026	$4.19B
2025	$6.68B
2024	$2.07B
2023	$2.72B
2022	$1.55B
2021	$3.43B
2020	$2.01B
2019	$18.7B
2018	$5.21B
2017	$4.03B

Total funding across countries in the Aerospace, Maritime and Defense sector

In the last 10 years, Aerospace, Maritime and Defense startups in United States have recieved the highest funding among all countries - $29.5B. China follows with $2.91B and United Kingdom with $1.94B.

Total Funding

Country	Total Funding
United States	$29.5B
China	$2.91B
United Kingdom	$1.94B
France	$1.44B
Norway	$1.14B
Italy	$1.05B
India	$889M
Netherlands	$612M
Germany	$515M
Spain	$39.2M

Total funding amount raised by stage in the Aerospace, Maritime and Defense sector

Over the last 10 years, the Aerospace, Maritime and Defense sector have seen $673M into Seed Stage funding rounds, $5.05B into Early Stage funding rounds and $3.88B go into Late Stage funding rounds.

Funding Stage	Total Funding
Debt	$29.2B
Grant	$6.86B
Early Stage	$5.05B
Late Stage	$3.88B
Post IPO	$3.11B
PE	$1.19B
Seed Stage	$673M
Other-Equity	$592K

Recent Funding Rounds in Aerospace, Maritime and Defense

In the year 2026, till August 2026, Aerospace, Maritime and Defense companies have raised $2.53B in equity funding across 83 rounds. In the same period last year (i.e. till August 2025), Aerospace, Maritime and Defense companies had raised $1.22B across 82 rounds. So, 2026 has seen a 107.07% rise in funding in Aerospace, Maritime and Defense companies as compared to 2025.

Here are some recent, important funding rounds in Aerospace, Maritime and Defense:

Company	Round Raised	Amount Raised	Funding Date	Investors
Cosmo-Bloom	Seed	2342	Aug 07, 2026	Taiyo Kogyo Corporation / MakMax and 5 more
Aurelius Systems	Series A	5672	Aug 05, 2026	Draper and 8 more
Farsound Aviation	Unattributed	7373	Aug 04, 2026	Neuberger Berman Capital Solutions and 1 more
North Vector Dynamics	Seed	1779	Jul 31, 2026	NordSpace
Mid-Space	Series A	9818	Jul 29, 2026	DSC Investment and 5 more

See a more detailed list of funding rounds

Europa is the top investor in Aerospace, Maritime and Defense companies based on number of companies invested.

Here are some top investors in Aerospace, Maritime and Defense:

Investor	Location	Top Portfolio Companies
Europa	Belgium	Thales, Airbus Official, BAE Systems and Boeing
Military Health	Falls Church (United States)	Northrop Grumman, NASA, BAE Systems and Boeing
NASA	United States	Northrop Grumman, BAE Systems, Boeing and RTX
OSTI	Oak Ridge (United States)	Northrop Grumman, Kratos, BAE Systems and Boeing
National Science Foundation	Arlington (United States)	RTX, Lockheed Martin, Raytheon and Leidos

See a more detailed list of investors

In the year 2026, till August 2026, 91 acquisitions happened in Aerospace, Maritime and Defense sector. Last year, in 2025, a total of 148 acquisitions happened in Aerospace, Maritime and Defense sector.

Here are some recent, important acquisitions in Aerospace, Maritime and Defense:

Company	Acquisition Type	Acquisition Date	Acquirers
GMSPAZIO	Business Acquisition	Aug 05, 2026	Maregroup
One2Three	Business Acquisition	Jul 30, 2026	BMT
Simangroup	Business Acquisition	Jul 27, 2026	NEXT
Aerotecnic	Business Acquisition	Jul 27, 2026	Henko Partners
Aydindisplays	Business Acquisition	Jul 21, 2026	-

See a more detailed list of acquisitions

Acquisition trends in Aerospace, Maritime and Defense

Here are the acquisition trends in Aerospace, Maritime and Defense:

Total Number of Acquisitions

Year	No. of companies
2026	91
2025	148
2024	143
2023	126
2022	141
2021	129
2020	130
2019	136
2018	120
2017	91

In the year 2026, till July 2026, 5 IPOs happened in Aerospace, Maritime and Defense sector.

Here are some recent, important IPOs in Aerospace, Maritime and Defense:

Company	IPO Date	Exchange Symbol
Millworks Technologies	Jul 21, 2026	Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE)
Applied Aerospace & Defense	Jun 03, 2026	New York Stock Exchange (NYSE)
Gnsa	Apr 21, 2026	Warsaw Stock Exchange (WSE)
Vincorion	Mar 20, 2026	Frankfurt Stock Exchange (FRA)
Apsisaerocom	Mar 18, 2026	National Stock Exchange (NSE)

See a more detailed list of IPOs

Companies founded by alumni from top colleges in the Aerospace, Maritime and Defense sector

Most number of Aerospace, Maritime and Defense startups have been founded by alumni from University of California (Los Angeles), Harvard University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

College	No. of companies
University of California (Los Angeles)	15
Harvard University	13
Massachusetts Institute of Technology	13
Stanford University	13
Harvard Business School	9
University of California (Berkeley)	8
Cornell University	6
IIT Madras	5
University of Pennsylvania	5
Carnegie Mellon University	4

Total funding in companies founded by alumni from top colleges in the the Aerospace, Maritime and Defense sector

In the last 10 years, Harvard University graduates' Aerospace, Maritime and Defense companies have raised the most funding among top colleges. University of California (Los Angeles) alumni are second, and INSEAD alumni are third.

College	Total Funding
Harvard University	$6.48B
University of California (Los Angeles)	$2.76B
INSEAD	$941M
Duke University	$727M
Booth School of Business	$534M
University of Chicago	$534M
Harvard Business School	$377M
NYU Stern School of Business	$376M
Columbia University	$310M
University of Delhi	$210M