Where Are the Companies?
Thanks in part to the inclusion of dozens of new companies, for the first time in the NatSec100's four-year history, fewer than half of the cohort is headquartered in California. With 47 companies (down 12 from 2025) California remains the dominant state by a significant margin, but the shift is meaningful. The defense innovation ecosystem is no longer a California story with a national footnote. Rather, the ecosystem has become decentralized nationwide, signaling improved integration with defense customers and the beginnings of a shift toward production.
The year-over-year shift map tells the story clearly. California lost 12 companies. New York lost 8. The places gaining are less predictable: Colorado added 7, Virginia added 4, Washington added 4, and Massachusetts added 3. Colorado's rise is particularly notable: a direct reflection of the space, quantum, and advanced manufacturing companies that have been building there quietly for several years and are now breaking into the cohort in numbers.
Washington state's growth to 7 headquarters, driven by companies like Blue Origin and a cluster of autonomy and space-adjacent firms around Seattle, signals that the Pacific Northwest is establishing itself as a third distinct hub, separate from the Northern and Southern California concentrations that have historically defined the list's geography.
43 companies now have at least one corporate office in the DMV area, signaling the deliberate effort to plant flags near government customers in the DC corridor.
The most significant new dimension in the 2026 geography data is international. This cohort is the most globally distributed in the NatSec100's history — with offices spanning the UK, Germany, Australia, India, Japan, Brazil, and beyond. This data serves as a burgeoning allied ecosystem story. As NATO members commit to 5% GDP defense spending and allied co-production becomes a policy priority, NatSec100 companies are positioning themselves to serve demand that is no longer exclusively American.
16 States
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35 States
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“At CesiumAstro, we design, build, test, and deliver advanced space infrastructure and defense systems—integrating engineering and production to turn innovation into mission-ready capability with speed, scale, and reliability. From communications payloads to resilient space architectures, we are building the next generation of space infrastructure critical to national security and global connectivity.
Austin, home to CesiumAstro’s headquarters, is becoming a leader in national security innovation, bringing together top engineering talent with a commercial, execution-focused approach to solving complex challenges quickly and efficiently. When a company can deliver mission-ready capabilities at speed and scale to meet demand, it builds trust and is valued as a reliable partner. ”
