Hadrian
Hadrian builds AI- and robotics-driven automated precision manufacturing factories supplying components for missiles, fighter jets, space systems, and shipbuilding programs.
Background
Chris Power founded Hadrian in 2020 in Torrance, CA, targeting the chronic capacity shortage in U.S. aerospace and defense precision machining.
Power's thesis was that the industrial base supplying primes had not modernized and that software-driven automation could unlock throughput unavailable from traditional job shops.
Hadrian's core platform combines process engineering, AI-driven toolpath and quality control software, and robotics to run highly automated CNC machining cells. The company produces precision components for missiles, fighter jets, satellites, rockets, drones, and shipbuilding programs.
It has since expanded into additive manufacturing and launched a dedicated maritime manufacturing division. Its 'factories-as-a-service' model lets defense and aerospace customers outsource production rather than build captive capacity.
Hadrian sells directly to aerospace and defense prime contractors and new-space companies.
Headcount has grown from roughly 40 employees in 2021 to 201–500 on LinkedIn by mid-2026, reflecting rapid factory-floor and engineering buildout, including an Arizona facility expansion financed through Morgan Stanley.