Funding Round
Funding Round
VC rounds, Series A through growth equity, and fundraising coverage.
About Funding Round
Drone and defence start-ups raised some of the largest private rounds in aviation this year. Anduril raised $5 billion on 13 May at a valuation of $61 billion, double its round of June 2025. Its main project is Arsenal-1, a factory planned near Columbus, Ohio.
Europe's biggest names are close behind. Tekever, the Portuguese maker of surveillance drones, raised $580 million at a $6.4 billion valuation on 23 September. Destinus, the Dutch missile and drone maker, said on 20 October that Helsing, valued at $18 billion in July, would join its latest round.
Smaller firms are raising for interceptors and delivery. Neros raised $250 million at a $2.5 billion valuation to add a counter-drone interceptor to its attack drones. Manna raised $50 million in March to open 40 delivery bases; by October its Irish deliveries were paused.
Many of the headline figures come from the companies or from Bloomberg, not from filings. Bloomberg put Destinus's valuation at about €6 billion; Destinus has given no amount.
Every drone and defence funding round FlightBrief has reported
Coverage
Helsing Joins Funding Round of Missile Maker Destinus
Neither company gave a figure. Bloomberg's sources put Destinus at about €6 billion, above the €5 billion it sought in May.
Navy Drone Boats Stay in Panama to Patrol for Traffickers
Southcom kept Saronic's 24-foot Corsairs after an August exercise and is looking at how such boats could work in the canal.
Tekever Raises $580m a Week After Winning UK Army Drone Deal
The Army deal came by direct award after none of eight bids was suitable. Investigators are still finishing a report on an AR5 crash.
Airbound Raises $37M to Undercut Trucks on Delivery Cost
Airbound raised a $37M Series A led by Greenoaks for tail-sitter cargo drones, with DoorDash joining and a 10,000-flights-a-day network planned in India.
Neros Raises $250M to Build Interceptor and FPV Drones
Neros raised $250M at a $2.5B valuation and is adding a counter-drone interceptor, moving beyond the FPV airframes that made its name in Ukraine.
AVPL's Drone City in Hisar Has Named No Tenants Yet
AVPL opened 23 sheds for drone makers in May. None has been named, and part of the site's money is to come from AVPL's planned share sale.
Anduril Raises $5 Billion Series H at a $61 Billion Valuation
The money is for factories. Five months on, the Ohio plant has built its first Fury jet, and Anduril's first missile deliveries are due in 2027.
Destinus Has Not Confirmed Its €200M Pre-IPO Round
Bloomberg reported the round and a €5 billion valuation in May. Destinus now says Helsing will join a round, but gives no amount or listing date.
WaiV Robotics Raises $7.5M for Maritime VTOL Landing Pad
WaiV Robotics launches a gyro-stabilized landing pad for VTOL drones on vessels as small as 10 meters, backed by $7.5M in seed funding.
SkyfireAI Raises $11M for Autonomous Multi-Drone Operations
SkyfireAI raised $11M to build AI software that lets one operator manage multiple drones for 911 and rescue missions.
Stendr Raises $5.4M Pre-Seed for Nordic Counter-Drone AI
Norwegian startup Stendr raised $5.4M in pre-seed funding to build an AI-native defense platform targeting Europe's drone detection and response gap.
Arcanus Aerial Upsizes to $25M for Canadian UAV Production
Canadian drone maker Arcanus has secured a $3.15M lead investment and upsized its Series A to $25M as it moves from development into scaled manufacturing.
FlyFocus Raises €4.5M for NATO UAV Production in Poland
Warsaw-based FlyFocus secured €4.5M led by ffVC to build a dedicated manufacturing facility and launch two new UAV platforms in 2026.
NODA AI Raises $25M for Autonomous Military Systems
NODA AI closed a $25M Series A led by Bessemer to develop an AI orchestration platform integrating autonomous systems across air, land, sea, and space.
UVify Raises $41.7M in Korea's Largest Drone Investment
UVify secured $41.7M from CRIT Ventures and Nexon parent NXC, backing a pivot from drone swarm entertainment into defense and autonomous flight.
Lucid Bots Raises $20M Series B for Window-Washing Drones
Almost every figure about the cleaning-drone maker is its own, and its pages disagree on how many robots it has and how high the Sherpa reaches.
Manna's $50M Expansion Shifts to Tulsa After Irish Pause
Manna raised $50 million in March for 40 bases and two million deliveries in 2026. It has since grounded Irish flights and opened bases in Tulsa.
PDW Raises $110M With Booz Allen Backing for AI Drones
Performance Drone Works raised $110M while ORAN Development Company secured $45M, both backed by Booz Allen’s venture arm.
Companies
Booz Allen Hamilton
US management and technology consultancy serving federal defense, intelligence and civil agencies, with large AI, cyber and autonomy practices.
United States
Destinus
Netherlands-headquartered defence manufacturer producing cruise missiles, interceptor drones and turbojet engines, leading the Bliksem EXO consortium.
Netherlands
Rheinmetall
German defense and automotive group producing armored vehicles, ammunition, air defense systems, and military drone platforms.
Germany
Airbound
Indian autonomous delivery company building blended-wing-body tail-sitter cargo drones designed to weigh less than the payload they carry.
India
Anduril Industries
US defense technology company building autonomous weapons, counter-UAS, and AI command software, and manufacturing them at its own Arsenal-1 plant in Ohio.
United States
Arcanus Aerial Systems
Canadian UAV manufacturer scaling sovereign drone production for defence and government markets, with a Series A upsized to $25 million.
Canada
AVPL International
Indian drone manufacturer and training company offering agricultural UAVs, pilot certification programs, and drone ecosystem development services.
India
FlyFocus
Polish UAV and avionics manufacturer building NATO-aligned drone platforms and full-stack avionics for defense and government customers.
Poland
Funding
Series D
UC Investments, Baillie Gifford, Merlyn Advisors, Crescent Cove, Ventura Capital, Iberis Capital
TekeverSeries C
Sequoia Capital, American Strategic Technology Fund, Interlagos, Valor Equity Partners, Allen & Company, Thiel Capital, Spark Capital, Dylan Field
Neros TechnologiesGrowth
Dragoneer Investment Group, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Disruptive, Iconiq, Goldman Sachs Alternatives, JPMorganChase, CPP Investments, General Catalyst, Plural, StepStone
HelsingContracts
U.S. Special Operations Command
Tekever
Purchase of Tekever drone systems after validation and acceptance testing; the number, model and…
U.S. Air Force
Leidos
Engineering and integration support for the Medusa counter-small-drone system of systems.
UK Ministry of Defence
Tekever
Project CORVUS: AR5 long-endurance surveillance drones to replace the British Army's Watchkeeper, up…
U.S. Department of Homeland Security
Dedrone Defense, D-Fend Solutions, Leidos, Fortem Technologies, CACI, BAE Systems, EMS Defense Technologies, Booz Allen Hamilton, General Dynamics Information Technology, Parsons, Anduril Industries, Astrion
Five-year multiple-award counter-UAS IDIQ led by the DHS Science and Technology Directorate…
U.S. Army
Neros Technologies
IDIQ for the Archer first-person-view attritable drone, with support equipment, testing, engineering…
Related Topics
Related
Every funding round FlightBrief has reported, by quarter, size and investor.