Valarian, the company building the sovereign infrastructure layer for high-consequence operations and AI-driven systems, today announced $50 million in series A funding led by New Enterprise Associates (NEA), bringing total funding raised to $70 million. The round marks NEA's first defence and dual-use investment in Europe. Lightbank, XTX Markets, Sequel, LitVC, as well as angel investors Gokul Rajaram and Nikesh Arora, also participated in the round.
Valarian raises $50M Series A led by NEA; total funding $70M.
NEA's first defence and dual-use investment in Europe.
European defence spending reached €392 billion in 2025.
Two deployment tracks: Valarian Enterprise and Valarian Defence.
Provides workload-level governance across critical applications and AI systems.
Backed by UK government support for sovereign AI capabilities.
Max Buchan, CEO and Co-Founder of Valarian, stated: "The intelligence layer of Western institutions is consolidating: quietly, contract by contract, department by department, into systems those institutions do not control. We built Valarian because sovereignty isn't a feature you can add later. It's architecture you have to build from the ground up. This round gives us the capital to take that architecture to the organisations that need it most, at the moment they need it most."
Valarian provides workload-level governance across the environments where critical applications, AI systems and operational workloads run. Organisations retain control over how those systems communicate, access data and operate, while governance is enforced at the infrastructure layer and inherited automatically by every deployed capability. The funding will accelerate two deployment tracks: Valarian Enterprise for organisations deploying AI and high-consequence workloads, and Valarian Defence for sovereign nations and defence programmes.
Mustafa Neemuchwala, Partner at NEA, stated: "The critical question of the AI era isn't which model wins — it's who controls the environment intelligence operates inside. Valarian answers that question with genuine defence-grade architecture. This is NEA's first defence and dual-use investment in Europe, and we made it because Valarian is building the control infrastructure layer the sovereign AI era requires."
Kanishka Narayan, UK Minister for AI and Online Safety, stated: "Today, AI is the defining currency of both hard and soft power. To shape our own destiny, in accordance with our values, it is imperative that we build Britain's sovereign AI capabilities. Pioneering British firms like Valarian understand the challenge that's in front of us and are building the solutions that will help us deliver a safer and stronger Britain."
European defence spending reached €392 billion in 2025, while the concentration of critical systems and AI infrastructure among a small number of providers has extended from cloud compute into the intelligence layer itself. For years, sovereign level control was achieved through bespoke infrastructure built by defence organisations and a small number of highly regulated institutions. As AI becomes operationally critical, that requirement is becoming universal.
About Valarian
Valarian is a U.K.-based sovereign infrastructure company building the control layer for high-consequence operations and AI-driven systems. Its platform enables organisations to retain control over how critical applications, AI systems and operational workloads communicate, access data and operate. Valarian serves both enterprise and defence customers through two deployment tracks: Valarian Enterprise and Valarian Defence. Founded by Max Buchan and Josh McLaughlin, the company is headquartered in London.
About NEA
New Enterprise Associates, Inc. (NEA) is a global venture capital firm focused on helping entrepreneurs build transformational businesses. Founded in 1977, NEA has more than $35 billion in assets under management as of December 31, 2025, and invests in technology and healthcare companies at all stages. The firm's track record includes more than 285 portfolio company public listings and more than 510 mergers and acquisitions.
