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Nominal on Thursday announced<\/a> a fresh $80 million Series B extension round at a $1 billion valuation, led by Founders Fund. This followed the company\u2019s $75 million Series B round led by Sequoia in September.<\/p>\n The startup offers software that helps hardware engineers test their designs and began as a picks-and-shovels type of startup for the defense industry. The three-and-a-half-year-old, L.A.-based company says that in the last 10 months, it has landed four of the five largest defense contractors as customers.<\/p>\n CEO and co-founder Cameron McCord (pictured) is a former U.S. Navy submarine officer and Anduril alum, the defense tech company, which is also one of Nominal\u2019s marquee customers. So perhaps it\u2019s no surprise that Anduril co-founder and executive chairman Trae Stephens, who is also a Founders Fund partner, led this as a preemptive deal, McCord told Bloomberg<\/a>, and confirmed to TechCrunch. Sequoia, General Catalyst, Lux Capital, Red Glass, and Lightspeed also participated.<\/p>\n Next up, Nominal plans to expand beyond defense tech and into industrial sectors like automotive, robotics, and other industries. And it\u2019s made a good start. The company tells TechCrunch that some of its other customers include Pratt Miller Motorsports (the Corvette Racing Team), and nuclear energy company Antares.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n