Hadrian Automation 2020
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AI Overview
Hadrian Automation is an American aerospace and defense manufacturing startup that builds software-driven, automated factories. 1789 Capital, a venture capital firm where Donald Trump Jr. is a partner, is one of its notable investors. [1, 2, 3, 4]
Perspectives on Reindustrialization and Investment
Donald Trump Jr. emphasizes the firm's strategic focus and understanding of critical domestic sectors. [1, 2]
“His firm, 1789 Capital, has been investing in artificial intelligence and defense technology — and, he said, it has an ‘understanding’ of ...”
The New York TimesHadrian Automation CEO Chris Power discusses the company's focus on domestic manufacturing capacity. [1]
“That assumption no longer holds. This capital accelerates our ability to build the industrial capacity America needs by pairing advanced automation with workforce training designed for the scale of the opportunity in front of us.”
PR Newswire---
[### Hadrian Automation
Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Hadrian_Automation](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hadrian_Automation)
Hadrian Automation, also referred to as Hadrian, is an American manufacturing company that designs and operates automated, software-driven factories to ...Read more
no talk 7 26
Hadrian Automation,[2] also referred to as Hadrian, is an American manufacturing company that designs and operates automated, software-driven factories to produce precision components for the aerospace and defense sectors. The company builds modular, AI-enabled production systems that cover the production chain, from raw material sourcing to the building of completed, military-grade systems. The company serves various sectors like shipbuilding, autonomous drones or defense in general.[3]
History and development
Founding and funding
Hadrian was founded in 2021 by Chris Power with the goal of building highly automated factories for precision-machined aerospace and defense hardware.[4] Power is from Australia and he got the idea of building Hadrian after witnessing geopolitical tensions between the United States and China.[5]
Hadrian's initial facility opened in Hawthorne, California, where the company focused on automating CNC machining, inspection, scheduling, and other traditionally manual operations.[5]
In 2022, the company raised a US$90 million round led by Lux Capital and Andreessen Horowitz as it expanded operations supporting aerospace suppliers.[6] Founders Fund is another longtime backer, having invested in Hadrian since its seed round.[7][8] In July 2025, the Founders Fund co-led the $260 million Series C with Lux Capital.[9]
The company's technicians come from all backgrounds, including former nursers and marines who have not worked in manufacturing, and it trains them in 30 to 60 days.[9][10]
Factories
By 2024, Hadrian had opened a larger facility in Torrance, California and broadened its software-first factory model.[1] In 2025, it launched a second Torrance facility, dedicated to R&D ("Factory X")[11].
In July 2025, the company announced construction of a 270,000-square-foot manufacturing hub in Mesa, Arizona ("Factory 3"), expected to employ approximately 350 workers.[12] The Mesa facility became operational in December 2025. In March 2026, Hadrian launched a fourth facility ("Factory 4") 2.25 million square foot facility in Cherokee, Alabama, dedicated to submarine production. It also plans to build up to five additional factories over the course of 2026, each customized for a military segment.[3]
Following the Series C raise, Hadrian launched a division called Hadrian Maritime, focused on naval and shipbuilding manufacturing.[3]
Partnerships and acquisitions
Hadrian established a supply and manufacturing partnership with Anduril Industries, aiming at producing precision components for Anduril's autonomous defense systems and supporting scalable hardware production.[13]
Alongside Palantir, 8VC, General Catalyst, Oklo Inc., Dirac and Atomic Industries, Hadrian is a founding member of the New American Industrial Alliance (NAIA), a trade organization founded in 2024.[14][15][16] The other members are also defense contractors and hardtech companies, such as Anduril, Andreessen Horowitz, Narya Capital, Booz Allen, Joby Aviation, Regent Craft and Impulse Space, which hope to reduce government regulations.[17][18]
In 2025, Hadrian acquired Datum Source, a software firm launched by SpaceX alumni that leverages AI to connect hardware companies with the right manufacturing partners.[19][20][21]
Influence
Media outlets have cited Hadrian as part of a trend to reindustrialize American manufacturing and accelerate procurement for defense hardware, especially to counter rising geopolitical competition from countries like China.[22][23][24][3]
Chris Power, the CEO, told Bloomberg that many Silicon Valley tech leaders had long held an impression that the government was a "big slow-moving beast that is not worth really engaging with", but in recent years, the government has been moving to a new model that emphasizes missions and provides incentives, instead of requiring companies to do strictly defined jobs.[23]
In 2025, Breaking Defense remarks that Hadrian is still relatively small in comparison with more-established defense startups, having attained $3 million in revenue in 2024.[5] Hadrian's methods and technology is considered more nimble than those of traditional manufacturing companies.[3][25] It claims that with its Opus software, it can bring its factories online within a short period (around six months).[3][26] Los Angeles Business Journal comments on the company's Factory-as-a-Service model: "Instead of giant warehouses filled with machines, Hadrian's factories operate much like a big computer, with every system speaking to the other to complete manufacturing processes autonomously."[25] Manufacturing Today remarks that while Hadrian's system offers faster, more reliable component supply, with end-to-end automation, it faces competition with other innovators like Relativity Space, which focuses on different technologies such as 3D printing to improve rocket components. Challenges also lie in scaling and dealing with cyber threats.[22]
The Australian Financial Review remarks that Hadrian, like other new military industrial players such as Anduril, benefits from business and political connections to the investor Peter Thiel, members of the Trump administration and Trump family, including investments from the 1789 Capital, where Donald Trump Jr. serves as a partner.[27] It is also a company linked to Andreessen Horowitz's American Dynamism initiative and the venture capital firm's influential tech investor and writer Katherine Boyle.[28] The New Yorker writes that in supporting companies like Hadrian and Castelion (hypersonic missiles), Boyle is promoting the idea that "America is good, and that building things that make the country stronger and safer is also good—both morally and financially", and that strengthening the defense sector is also compatible with good family values.[29]
See also
[### Donald Trump Jr. Pitches 'Patriotic Capitalism' at Saudi ...
The New York Times
https://www.nytimes.com › 2025/10/29 › business › do...](https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/29/business/donald-trump-jr-1789-capital-saudi-arabia.html)
Oct 29, 2025 — His firm, 1789 Capital, has been investing in artificial intelligence and defense technology — and, he said, it has an “understanding” of ...
Missing: Automation | Show results with: Automation
[### Malik's 1789 Said to Back Defense, Rare-Earth Magnet ...
Bloomberg.com
https://www.bloomberg.com › news › articles › malik-s-...](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-08-26/malik-s-1789-said-to-back-defense-rare-earth-magnet-startups)
Aug 26, 2025 — Omeed Malik's 1789 Capital, where Donald Trump Jr. is a partner, has made two new investments in defense technology startups as the Trump ...
[### Warren, Crow Demand Answers on Federal Contracts ... House.gov
http://crow.house.gov › media › press-releases › warren-...](http://crow.house.gov/media/press-releases/warren-crow-demand-answers-on-federal-contracts-benefiting-trump-family)
Jun 4, 2026 — WASHINGTON — Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Congressman Jason Crow (D-CO), Co-Chair of the End Corruption Caucus, are demanding answers ...
Missing: Hadrian | Show results with: Hadrian
[### Trump Jr.-linked 1789 Capital surges from $200M to $3.5B on ...
livemint.com
https://www.livemint.com › News › Us News](https://www.livemint.com/news/us-news/trump-jr-linked-1789-capital-surges-from-200m-to-3-5b-on-america-first-investment-push-report-11779287970049.html)
May 20, 2026 — The expansion highlights how politically connected investors tied to President Donald Trump and his allies are increasingly shaping parts of ...
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MPU Producer/Host - Alex Kennell
2:56
2 minutes, 56 seconds
And what happened to each of them after 1789? Capital invested. And I'll add it all up right here as we go.
3:02
3 minutes, 2 seconds
In July 2025, 1789, invested in a company called Hadrian Automation.
3:09
3 minutes, 9 seconds
Hadrian was founded in 2020 and had no significant government contracts.
3:13
3 minutes, 13 seconds
Eight months later, it won a $900 million Navy contract to build automated submarine factories and an $80 million Army contract.
3:22
3 minutes, 22 seconds
That's $980 million total, all to a company that had never won a major government contract before.
3:28
3 minutes, 28 seconds
Don Jr's fond invested in Here's another one. Firehawk aerospace, whose entire government contract history fits in a single line.
3:37
3 minutes, 37 seconds
It had just one contract in 2022, and then 1789 invests and suddenly there winning Air Force and Space Force deals worth $8.9 million, plus a land gift in Oklahoma.
3:49
3 minutes, 49 seconds
And sometimes the perk goes beyond the money.
3:52
3 minutes, 52 seconds
1789 invested in reflection AI in 2025, and by May 2026, it became one of only eight AI companies in the country allowed to deploy inside Pentagon classified networks.
4:05
4 minutes, 5 seconds
Here's a company called Andrew that makes the autonomous weapons systems that define modern warfare, like drones and AI powered surveillance towers, and after 1789, invested.
4:15
4 minutes, 15 seconds
In June of 2025, the company won a $367 million border surveillance contract and a $23.9 million Army deal.
4:24
4 minutes, 24 seconds
It also has a potential 20 billion. Yes. Billion with AB.
4:28
4 minutes, 28 seconds
Army consolidation deal in the works so big a number that it totally dwarfs everything else on this list, but we can't even count it.
4:36
4 minutes, 36 seconds
So I'll just do 367 million plus 23.9 million.
4:56
4 minutes, 56 seconds
of all of these, there's one example that stands apart because this is one where we have proof the white House directly intervened.
5:03
5 minutes, 3 seconds
Falcon elements, a three year old startup with 30 employees that makes rare earth magnets.
5:08
5 minutes, 8 seconds
In August 2025, 1789, invested in Vulcan as a part of a $65 million funding round.
5:15
5 minutes, 15 seconds
Three months later, the Pentagon gave them a $620 million loan.
5:21
5 minutes, 21 seconds
Rare earth magnets are vital to military technology, and as the name suggests, they are rare. China has complete dominance over the industry.
5:30
5 minutes, 30 seconds
Both Democrats and Republicans have tried to change that. So Trump isn't the first to consider a loan of this sort.
5:39
5 minutes, 39 seconds
it went out without competitive bids without the technical disclosures that are used to verify whether a project is even viable before public money goes in.
5:50
5 minutes, 50 seconds
That was waived.
5:51
5 minutes, 51 seconds
the push for this loan came directly from Peter Navarro, Trump's senior trade adviser and a close personal friend of Don Jr.
5:57
5 minutes, 57 seconds
So close that Don Jr visited Navarro in prison and was one of the few people Navarro's latest book was dedicated He's a friend legitimately can't believe that this is happening to him,
6:08
6 minutes, 8 seconds
One Pentagon employee told ProPublica that the call came, quote, from the white House.
6:12
6 minutes, 12 seconds
We have to get this done, Staff worked late nights for weeks to push the loan through when deals like this normally take months.
6:20
6 minutes, 20 seconds
the time of 1789, investment Vulcan was valued at around 200 million. After the Pentagon loan, the valuation jumped to nearly $2 billion.
6:29
6 minutes, 29 seconds
technically, this one's alone.
6:30
6 minutes, 30 seconds
Not a contract, but it's still $620 million of our tax money going to a three year old startup with fewer employees than your local target, with no competitive process in a phone call from the white House to push it through.
...
5:03
5 minutes, 3 seconds
Falcon elements, a three year old startup with 30 employees that makes rare earth magnets.
5:08
5 minutes, 8 seconds
In August 2025, 1789, invested in Vulcan as a part of a $65 million funding round.
5:15
5 minutes, 15 seconds
Three months later, the Pentagon gave them a $620 million loan.
5:21
5 minutes, 21 seconds
Rare earth magnets are vital to military technology, and as the name suggests, they are rare. China has complete dominance over the industry.
5:30
5 minutes, 30 seconds
Both Democrats and Republicans have tried to change that. So Trump isn't the first to consider a loan of this sort.
5:39
5 minutes, 39 seconds
it went out without competitive bids without the technical disclosures that are used to verify whether a project is even viable before public money goes in.
5:50
5 minutes, 50 seconds
That was waived.
5:51
5 minutes, 51 seconds
the push for this loan came directly from Peter Navarro, Trump's senior trade adviser and a close personal friend of Don Jr.
5:57
5 minutes, 57 seconds
So close that Don Jr visited Navarro in prison and was one of the few people Navarro's latest book was dedicated He's a friend legitimately can't believe that this is happening to him,
6:08
6 minutes, 8 seconds
One Pentagon employee told ProPublica that the call came, quote, from the white House.
6:12
6 minutes, 12 seconds
We have to get this done, Staff worked late nights for weeks to push the loan through when deals like this normally take months.
6:20
6 minutes, 20 seconds
the time of 1789, investment Vulcan was valued at around 200 million. After the Pentagon loan, the valuation jumped to nearly $2 billion.
6:29
6 minutes, 29 seconds
technically, this one's alone.
6:30
6 minutes, 30 seconds
Not a contract, but it's still $620 million of our tax money going to a three year old startup with fewer employees than your local target, with no competitive process in a phone call from the white House to push it through.
6:42
6 minutes, 42 seconds
So I'm going to count it So it turns out the fastest way to win a government contract is to put the president's son on your board.
6:51
6 minutes, 51 seconds
I want to bring us back to Eric, because this is where things get really egregious.
6:57
6 minutes, 57 seconds
Power us is a drone company that both brothers invested in, in April 2026, it won an Air Force contract to sell interceptor drones.
7:04
7 minutes, 4 seconds
How much was never disclosed. Then there's another drone company, Unusual Machines. Don Jr is an advisor with a financial stake in the company.
7:13
7 minutes, 13 seconds
An October 2025 at one what its own CEO called, quote, the largest government contract in the company's history.
7:21
7 minutes, 21 seconds
The amount was also never disclosed.
7:23
7 minutes, 23 seconds
Unusual machines signed a $5 million supply deal with powers, so government money flows to power.
7:29
7 minutes, 29 seconds
US powers, pays unusual machines, Eric gets paid and Don Jr gets paid twice. It's a loop.
7:38
7 minutes, 38 seconds
This is the type of mechanism that helps Don Jr go from 50 million to 300 million, and helps Eric go from 40 million to 400 million.
7:47
7 minutes, 47 seconds
The contracts don't go to them directly, but they do go to the companies and they own pieces of these companies. So every government contract makes those pieces worth much more.
8:22
8 minutes, 22 seconds
the fund is still growing.
8:24
8 minutes, 24 seconds
Currently managing $3.5 billion in assets with a stated goal of $10 billion.
8:55
8 minutes, 55 seconds
So how is any of this legal?
8:59
8 minutes, 59 seconds
If a mid-level contract worker at a Navy base owns stock in a company bidding for one of her contracts, she would lose her job. She would likely face criminal charges, too.
9:08
9 minutes, 8 seconds
for Don Jr and Eric, there's nothing. No law covers the president's children.
9:14
9 minutes, 14 seconds
There's no requirement to recuse themselves from decisions that benefit their investments.
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