Anduril president says defense tech companies have to 'create a monopoly' to survive

Anduril wants to dominate defense tech. Matthew Steckman, its president and chief business officer, said it needs to "create a monopoly." Omar Havana/Getty Images 2026-03-25T17:08:43.093Z Share Copy link Email Facebook WhatsApp X LinkedIn Bluesky Threads lighning bolt icon An icon in the shape of a lightning bolt.

Impact Link Save Saved Read in app Loading audio narration... This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. Become an Insider and start reading now. Have an account? Log in. Anduril president Matthew Steckman said that defense tech companies have to "create a monopoly." There are only one or two programs in each category that are big enough to sustain a business, Steckman said. "If you capture them, you have a business, and if you don't, you have no business," he said on "20VC." AI-generated summary Summaries are generated by an AI model trained on Business Insider's articles. AI may make mistakes or provide inaccurate/incomplete information. We're unable to load that answer right now. Please try again. What is defense tech's "winner-takes-all"? Why is defense tech so competitive? How can someone work at Anduril? How does Anduril plan to "create a monopoly"? What is Anduril's "Lattice" technology? Defense tech is winner-takes-all, according to Andruil's president. Anduril has quickly become a market leader, spawning a venture capital frenzy. The industry is also notoriously competitive, with companies duking it out for lucrative government contracts.On the "20VC" podcast, President and Chief Business Officer Matthew Steckman described the company's strategy. They'd need to win in key product categories, he said — and maybe monopolize them. Every defense product category has one big or two big programs, Steckman said. He used the example of small drones, for which there are "very few" programs that would create enough revenue to maintain a business."If you capture them, you have a business, and if you don't, you have no business," Steckman said of these programs. Every time Henry publishes a story, you'll get an alert straight to your inbox! Stay connected to Henry and get more of their work as it publishes. Sign up By clicking "Sign up", you agree to receive emails from Business Insider. In addition, you accept Insider's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. Defense tech companies must shoot for the moon, he said. It's this "addressable market question" that most companies in the sector get wrong, he said."You have to create a monopoly," Steckman said. "We knew that." Anduril's strategy, then, was to create strong underlying technology that could keep them competitive in multiple markets. The company calls this Lattice, the tech that consumes data, interprets it, and then manipulates robots around it, he said.Those technologies apply to 20 different markets, Steckman said, each "different parts of the defense apparatus." It's clearly paid off. The company is reportedly raising its next round at a valuation of $60 billion. Some venture capitalists with FOMO are paying premiums for their shares. One compared it to buying Taylor Swift tickets.Want to work there? Your best way in might be winning a drone-racing competition. In April, the company will reward one winner with a job and a $500,000 check. After Steckman posited his theory of monopolization in defense tech, host Harry Stebbings asked: Why, then, are there so many drone companies?"There will definitely be one winner," Steckman said. "The challenge for investors is actually figuring out which one it is."