The verified answer
As of Oct 2026, DEPLOY verifies Epirus: 1 model, 1 deployment across 1 region, $450.0M raised. 1 source back the record.
Overview
Epirus is a Torrance, CA-based defense technology company developing the Leonidas high-power microwave (HPM) system for counter-drone and counter-electronics applications. Leonidas neutralizes swarming, fiber-optic, and autonomous drone threats using directed energy, with contracts from the U.S. Army including a 6.1M prototype contract and a 3.5M IFPC-HPM Gen II contract. Founded by Joe Lonsdale (co-founder of Palantir) and Grant Verstandig, Epirus has raised over 50M in total funding through a 50M Series D.
Verified record
- Verified deployments
- 1 deployment on file
- Active incidents
- None on file
Valuation of record
DEPLOY VERIFIEDPriced roundSeries D post-money
Key facts
Co-founders
Total fundingsee investors →
Products
CEO
Founders
Key product
U.S. Army contract
Data & sources
Web sources
1
1 source backing this record.View all →
Models (1)
View all models →Partnerships
Every company Epirus has built with, alongside the ones only announced in a press release.
Most-frequent partners
- 1General Dynamics Land Systems1× joint3 total
- 2U.S. Army1× joint
Most recent
- Epirus x U.S. Army (IFPC-HPM)2023-01-23with U.S. Armyoperating
- General Dynamics Land Systems x Epirus2021-10-25with General Dynamics Land Systemsjust announced
Epirus on the deployment map
View the global map1 verified deployment across 1 region, newest verified Jan 2023. Explore where Epirus's robots are operating, by place and type.
View the full Epirus deployment record →
Relationships
Current leadership (2)
- Andy Lowery Chief Executive Officerreported, not verified
- Joe Lonsdale Co-Founderreported, not verified
Founders (2)
- Joe Lonsdalecofounderno longer at company
later founded 8VC
- Nathan Mintzcofounderno longer at company
Former / Previously (1)
- Nathan Mintz Co-founder and Former CEOsecondary-verified
Safety record
No incidents on record for Epirus.
Only active incidents are counted. Retracted incidents are excluded from this summary but remain reachable at their canonical URLs.
Full safety record: incidents, sourcing, and exposure data →
Operator customers (1)
- Epirus1 deployment
Recent coverage
Epirus in third-party press
US Marines sets sight on Epirus’ microwave weapon to defeat drone swarms
Epirus, General Dynamics Land Systems and Kodiak AI Unveil New Autonomous HPM System for Counter-UAS
Epirus, General Dynamics Land Systems Partner on Leonidas Autonomous Robotic for Mobile Counter-UAS
Peers
144 peers across 1 segment. Every Epirus competitor derived from shared form-factor and application-domain edges.
service(144)
113 companies in this segment · competitive (HHI 831.3520919269878) · leader Bond at 1957%
- Allen Control Systemsdirect competitor(inferred)strong
- Dominion Dynamicsdirect competitor(inferred)strong
- Perennial Autonomydirect competitor(inferred)strong
- 1X Technologiesdirect competitor(inferred)moderate
- A&K Roboticsdirect competitor(inferred)moderate
- Aescapedirect competitor(inferred)moderate
Financial state
- Total funding
- $450.0M
- Reporting basis
- private_reported
- Lifecycle stage
- growth
- Counterparty risk class
- moderate
Each numeric field carries its own basis marker. Aggregators report a number; this surface preserves the source class so verification depth travels with the value.
Partnerships
2 total · 1 operating · 1 just announced
Every company Epirus has built with, alongside the ones only announced in a press release.
Most recent
- Epirus x U.S. Army (IFPC-HPM)2023-01-23with U.S. Armyoperating
- General Dynamics Land Systems x Epirus2021-10-25with General Dynamics Land Systemsjust announced
Most-frequent partners
- 1General Dynamics Land Systems1× joint3 total
- 2U.S. Army1× joint
All 2 partnerships
open in the atlas →- Epirus x U.S. Army (IFPC-HPM)withU.S. Armydeployment2023-01-23operating
- technology2021-10-25just announced
Funding rounds (2)
Epirus’s 2 disclosed rounds, $450M in total, oldest to newest.
- Series D2025-01-01
$250M(reported) · $3.0B post
Investors: 8VC
- Series C2022-02-15
$200M(reported) · $2.0B post
Investors: T. Rowe Price (lead), 8VC (co_lead), Gaingels
Timeline
Every recorded move in Epirus’s history, most recent first: funding rounds, partnerships, acquisitions, supply-chain starts, key hires, and press.
Funding roundSeries D funding round
2025-01-01Series D raising $250000000
PartnershipEpirus x U.S. Army (IFPC-HPM)
2023-01-23U.S. Army awarded Epirus 6.1M for Leonidas prototypes and 3.5M for IFPC-HPM Gen II systems to counter swarming drone threats using directed energy.
Funding roundSeries C funding round
2022-02-15Series C raising $200000000
Recent activity
Every change to this record is dated, sourced, and independently verified where marked.
- Record createdJun 27, 2026
Added to the verified registry
- Deployment verifiedVerifiedJan 23, 2023
Leonidas HPM at United States
Sources (1)
Common questions
What is Epirus?
What does Epirus make?
Who competes with Epirus?
Who is the CEO of Epirus?
Where is Epirus headquartered?
How much funding has Epirus raised?
Where does Epirus operate robots?
How many robots has Epirus deployed?
Is Epirus a top robotics company?
When was Epirus founded?
Is Epirus safe?
Methodology: Verified · 1 source (no primary) · last reviewed 2026-08-21
Verification posture
Verified
Low confidence
Review state
Stable
Last reviewed 2026-08-21
Sources by quality tier
- 1
- unclassified
- Unclassified source
The framework is documented at /methodology. Corrections at /corrections. Reviewer: DEPLOY editorial team.
Methodology surface for Epirus.Peer companies
- Roborock20 models
- Unitree Robotics10 models
- DJI7 models
- DLR Institute of Robotics and Mechatronics6 models
- Gobio Robot6 models
- Orbbec6 models
In the press
Recent coverage mentioning Epirus from third-party publications. Automatically surfaced; not part of the verified registry record.
US Marines sets sight on Epirus’ microwave weapon to defeat drone swarms
Drone swarms approaching US Marine Corps positions could soon face an invisible wall of electromagnetic...
Epirus, General Dynamics Land Systems and Kodiak AI Unveil New Autonomous HPM System for Counter-UAS
Leonidas Autonomous Ground Vehicle (AGV) combines Epirus’ Leonidas high-power microwave platform, the Kodiak Driver autonomous system and General Dynamics Land Systems’ system…
Epirus, General Dynamics Land Systems Partner on Leonidas Autonomous Robotic for Mobile Counter-UAS
Epirus and GDLS partner to integrate Leonidas on autonomous robotic platform for mobile counter-UAS.
Epirus' Leonidas High-Power Microwave Defeats 49-Drone Swarm at Live-Fire Demonstration
Leonidas HPM system defeated 100% of 49 drones flown at live-fire demonstration.
Epirus Receives 3.5 Million Contract from U.S. Army for IFPC-HPM Generation II Systems
Epirus secured a 3.5M U.S. Army contract for next-generation Leonidas IFPC-HPM counter-drone systems with longer range and greater power.
Epirus Closes $250M Series D to Hyperscale Leonidas Production
Epirus raised $250M Series D led by 8VC to scale Leonidas production capability.
Defense tech startup Epirus raises 50M Series D to counter drone swarms
Epirus raised 50M in Series D, bringing total funding to over 50M for its Leonidas counter-drone HPM system.
Epirus: 50 Million (Series D) Closed To Scale Production of Leonidas
Epirus closed an oversubscribed 50M Series D funding round, bringing total venture funding to over 50M to scale production of the Leonidas HPM system.
Epirus Business Breakdown and Founding Story
Contrary Research report on Epirus founding story, product suite, and government contracts.
US Army Awards Epirus 66.1M Contract for Leonidas Directed Energy System
US Army awarded Epirus 66.1M for four Leonidas HPM prototypes.
Machine-readable surfaces
- Markdown mirror: /companies/epirus.md
- RSS feed: /companies/epirus/feed.xml
- JSON-LD: embedded in this page’s head
- REST API: /v1/companies/43c80509-ae08-4a4f-b593-7ada9fa7465f
- Revision history: /companies/epirus/history
- Data documentation: /data
- Query this programmatically: Deploy MCP
Peer companies
- Roborock20 models
- Unitree Robotics10 models
- DJI7 models
- DLR Institute of Robotics and Mechatronics6 models
- Gobio Robot6 models
- Orbbec6 models
Video
Epirus' Leonidas high-power microwave (HPM) family of systems features the lowest cost per drone kill on the market using non-kinetic directed energy. Leonidas is scalable to fit any mission requirement and has unlimited
This is the spotlight video highlighting Epirus. They are using cutting edge, high power microwave technology combined with AI to combat unmanned aerial systems
The era of 1-to-1 counter drone engagements is ending, and this strategy is not an option for the U.S. to stay on the right side of the cost equation. As asymme
Andy Lowery, CEO, Eprius, joins theCUBE for this segment of Defense Tech 00:00 - Bridging Innovation and Defense: From Silicon Valley to Modern Warfare 03:42
A new kind of domain has emerged. It's a battlespace that converges a saturation of autonomous, robotic, asymmetric threats across all domains with surprise att
In 2024 we are seeing a rise in drone and drone swarm attacks that will only grow in number as adversaries take advantage of their low-cost of production. Epiru
The Leonidas solid-state counter-drone system knocks down drones -- singly or in swarms with a beam of microwaves. The system is more compact and lightweight th
Epirus showcases the power of its Leonidas high-power microwave system by successfully disabling 61 drones in Indiana. Witness the latest advancements in counte
Software-defined high-power microwave technology to counter unmanned aircraft systems, using directed energy systems to disable drones and other threats. This d
Epirus, General Dynamics, and Kodiak AI unveiled the Leonidas AGV, a mobile, AI-powered vehicle using high-power microwaves to neutralize drone swarms. Start s
Asymmetric Drone Warfare: The Sixth Domain Doctrine by Epirus A new kind of domain has emerged. It's a battlespace that converges a saturation of autonomous, ro
Heat Index
Category contender79/100
A composite of competitive footprint, funding, press velocity, active partnerships, and supply-chain edges. Different from the Intelligence score below (which is per-form-factor productization). Non-robotics companies cap at 25.
Reality vs attention
Epirus draws attention at the 80th percentile but verifies reality at the 7th percentile among other robots. Hype Gap +73.3, 9th widest among other robots.
6-month trend
Analysis
Clean safety record across 1 verified deployment. Well-capitalized with $450M raised. Deployment footprint remains limited relative to category peers.
Signal flags
Dimension breakdown
Verified signal
Attention (reach, not merit)
DEPLOY Intelligence scores are computed from verified registry data: confirmed deployments, disclosed funding rounds, regulatory filings, active job listings, video viewership, and press coverage. Confidence ratings reflect data availability. Scores update nightly.
DEPLOY Indices — verified vs claimed
Last computed: Oct 3, 2026