Saronic, a three-year-old startup that is aiming to make a fleet of autonomous boats for the U.S. Navy, is in talks to raise $500 million, Forbes has learned.

The Series C round talks, which remain ongoing, would value the nascent company at over $3 billion, according to five sources with knowledge of the deal. Two of the sources said the company has discussed the funding round with VC firm Accel; one said existing angel investor Elad Gil was involved. It’s unclear if previous investors, including 8VC and Andreessen Horowitz, are also involved in the funding discussions.

Saronic and Accel declined to comment. Andreessen Horowitz, Elad Gil and 8VC didn’t respond to a comment request.

The talks are the latest signal of booming venture capital interest in defense tech, and would cement Saronic among the small but growing number of unicorn-valued companies that are aiming to rearm the Pentagon in the face of growing U.S. tensions with China. In recent months, other defense tech companies like military weapons maker Anduril and European software and drone firm Helsing AI have secured major funding rounds from investors like Andreessen Horowitz and General Catalyst.

CEO Dino Mavrookas, a U.S. Navy veteran, previously told Forbes that he launched Saronic to address a concern that the Chinese Navy’s shipbuilding capacity is far greater, and more effective, than that of the U.S. The Austin-based company, which launched in 2022, has built at least two prototypes of autonomous boats, which it has said could be used as a type of ‘wingman’ to U.S. Navy ships, used both for weapons or intelligence gathering.

The company is yet to announce any major government contracts, and has previously declined to provide financial information, including revenue figures. In July, Forbes first reported Saronic’s Series B fundraise of $175 million, valuing the company at $1 billion. At the time, Mavrookas told Forbes the company would use the funding to help scale Saronic’s operations to produce hundreds of drone boats at a new manufacturing facility in Austin.

On Wednesday, Saronic announced it had hired two executives: new CFO Patrick DePriest, who previously held the same role at pilot automation company Merlin Labs, and Nick Stoner, who will join to oversee growth, after leaving Anduril where he oversaw its maritime business.

An early backer of Saronic, venture capitalist Elad Gil has made several defense tech bets, investing in Helsing AI and Anduril. Meanwhile, Accel is the latest venture capital entrant to make a splash in defense investing. In November, partner Steve Loughlin announced that he was leading a $145 million investment into Chaos Industries, which has previously offered only a vague description of its products; “advanced detection, monitoring, and communication solutions.” “Today’s battlefield is increasingly augmented, and tech is powering even more sophisticated threats for the U.S. and its allies,” Loughlin said in a statement at the time. “The traditional defense industry urgently needs to adapt to this new paradigm.”

Alex Konrad contributed reporting.

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