Palmer Luckey’s Columbus-based bank hits $4.35 billion valuation: Report

Columbus-based Erebor, a digital bank co-founded by Anduril founder Palmer Luckey, has reportedly closed a $350 million funding round that values the company at $4.35 billion, per Axios. The deal further cements Central Ohio’s role as a strategic base for Luckey’s growing footprint in defense technology and financial infrastructure.

The valuation reflects renewed institutional appetite for "stablecoin-native" banking models following the recent election. Investors are betting that a U.S.-chartered, compliance-first bank—headquartered in Columbus—can connect traditional Wall Street finance with the fast-evolving digital asset economy.

The big picture

Erebor is explicitly designed to serve the innovation economy in the post‑Silicon Valley Bank era, focusing on fast‑growing but often underserved sectors like AI, advanced manufacturing, and digital assets. By pairing a traditional U.S. bank charter with stablecoin‑native infrastructure, the company is trying to build a direct conduit between Wall Street banking and on‑chain finance.

Landing that strategy in Columbus—rather than on the coasts—signals an effort to build critical financial plumbing in the country’s emerging defense and AI corridor.

The Ohio strategy

In Central Ohio, Luckey is quietly assembling a two‑track presence: a financial platform in Columbus and a defense manufacturing footprint just south of the city.

• The Industrial Anchor: The bank’s rise runs parallel to Luckey’s role at Anduril Industries. The defense technology company is currently constructing Arsenal-1, a massive manufacturing plant in Pickaway County, just south of Columbus.
• Historic Scale: Arsenal-1 represents a $1 billion investment and is projected to create over 4,000 jobs, marking the largest single job-creation project in Ohio’s history. The bank adds a complementary financial layer to that footprint.
• The ecosystem: If Arsenal‑1 becomes a flagship production site and Erebor captures the banking needs of the same ecosystem, Columbus starts to look like a vertically integrated hub for next‑generation defense, AI, and financial infrastructure.

The details

• The capital: Axios reports that Lux Capital led the $350 million round, with participation from Founders Fund, 8VC, Haun Ventures, and other existing backers.
• The investor lineup: Those firms—tied to founders like Peter Thiel and Joe Lonsdale—signal that Erebor is being positioned as a strategically important player at the intersection of national security, crypto, and fintech.
• The regulatory moat: Erebor is leaning heavily into a compliance‑first posture. Axios notes that the bank has already secured conditional approval from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and more recently received sign‑off from the FDIC, steps that are essential for accepting insured deposits.

What's next

With its federal approvals in place, Erebor is expected to begin rolling out services in 2026. The open question for Ohio’s tech community is how directly the bank will plug into local AI startups, defense suppliers, and advanced manufacturers versus serving a more national customer base from a Columbus headquarters.

For now, the combination of a defense megaproject in Pickaway County and a venture‑backed digital bank in Columbus gives Central Ohio a rare blend of industrial scale and financial experimentation.