#067: The Next Anduril? Defense Tech Startup Investing

ByCraig Stephens Updated:

Craig welcomes Edoardo Zarghetta of IPO Club, a venture capital investing platform for accredited investors.

Edoardo shares his knowledge about pre-IPO defense tech investing, access, metrics and KPIs to consider, and various technologies and startups in the space, including Anduril, Hadrian, and Shield AI.

Date Recorded: May 28th, 2026

Disclosures: At the time of recording, Craig is long SpaceX stock and private company shares via VCX restricted shares (Anduril), RVI, and the ARK Venture Fund. Access IPOs was not paid to make this video. It is not sponsored. All opinions are the host’s own. Access IPOs content is for informational purposes only and the host does not recommend that investors buy or sell any stocks, funds, or private companies mentioned. Perform personalized due diligence and only invest with money you can afford to lose, as IPO and pre-IPO investments inherently carry a high degree of risk.

Edoardo Zarghetta is long, or may at some point in the future be long all companies mentioned through the IPO Club platform and America 2030 fund.

How to Invest in Defense Tech Pre-IPO
  • 0:00 Intro
  • 0:30 Defense Tech Investing
  • 1:43 Welcome Edoardo
  • 4:17 Defense Investing Thesis
  • 6:20 Ukraine and Iran
  • 7:20 Startups vs. Legacy Contractors
  • 8:43 Soldier Augmentation
  • 9:46 Missile Crisis
  • 12:05 Cheap and Scalable
  • 12:40 Allen Control Systems
  • 14:15 Counter Drone
  • 15:30 Electronic Warfare
  • 17:25 AI Defense SaaS
  • 18:58 Sub-sea Layer
  • 19:23 PicoGrid
  • 19:57 Space
  • 20:35 Defense Manufacturing
  • 21:26 Hadrian
  • 21:49 Firestorm Labs
  • 22:17 Firehawk Aerospace
  • 22:38 X-Bow
  • 23:01 Realistic Exits
  • 24:45 Shield AI
  • 25:19 Defense M&A
  • 27:31 Sourcing Deals
  • 32:22 Valid Shares
  • 35:35 Aggressive Return Targets
  • 37:56 America 2030
  • 41:18 Learn More
  • 42:53 Outro

Disclosures: At the time of recording, Craig is long SpaceX stock, and OpenAI and Anthropic equity via VCX restricted shares, RVI, and the ARK Venture Fund. Access IPOs is an affiliate partner with Robinhood, and VCX is a sponsor of the Access IPOs podcast. Access IPOs content is for informational purposes only and the host does not recommend that investors buy or sell any stocks, funds, or private companies mentioned. Perform personalized due diligence and only invest with money you can afford to lose, as IPO and pre-IPO investments inherently carry a high degree of risk. Invest in IPOs and private companies at your own risk.

 
 

Similar Posts