M&A
M&A
Mergers, acquisitions, and strategic partnerships.
About M&A
Procore, the construction software company, completed its $845 million cash purchase of DroneDeploy on 9 September. DroneDeploy builds no aircraft. It sells the software that runs a drone's flight checks and turns its pictures into maps and 3D models.
Counter-drone makers are being bought too. Motorola Solutions closed its $1.5 billion acquisition of D-Fend Solutions on 20 August. Axon bought Dedrone in 2024.
Several deals are still pending. Archer Aviation agreed in August to buy three Boeing units, Wisk, Insitu and SkyGrid, and expects to close by the end of 2026. Thales agreed to pay €134 a share for the family stake in Exail. Red Cat offered €39 a share for Austria's Steyr Motors, about €205 million by FlightBrief's arithmetic.
Buyers are also securing parts. Unusual Machines announced on 19 October that it had completed its $52 million purchase of the drone battery maker Upgrade Energy. Half of the price is due only if it books $10 million of revenue from its own batteries within two years.
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.
Unusual Machines Closes $52M Deal for Drone Battery Maker
Half the price is a cash bonus tied to $10 million of battery sales in two years. A Pentagon ban on six Chinese battery makers starts in 2027.
Red Cat Offers €39 a Share for Engine Maker Steyr Motors
The drone company wants the Austrian firm's marine engines for its drone boats. Steyr's anchor holder has agreed to sell, but half the shares are needed.
Exail Books €87m Loss After Thales Deal Prompts Restatement
Sales and EBITDA grew. The loss comes from obligations to investor ICG and to staff, signed in 2022, that the old accounts left out or understated.
Procore Completes $845 Million Purchase of DroneDeploy
DroneDeploy now answers to a construction software firm that plans to sell it to its own customers and feed its site imagery to AI.
Motorola buys D-Fend weeks after DHS opens $1.5B contract
Motorola closed a $1.5B counter-drone acquisition on August 20, three weeks after DHS opened a contract worth the same amount to twelve companies.
XTI Aerospace Warns of Going-Concern Doubt After CEO Resigns
XTI Aerospace told the SEC its late second-quarter 10-Q is expected to disclose going-concern doubt, days after chairman and CEO Scott Pomeroy resigned.
Ondas Books $83.8M Quarter, Raises Guidance to $550M
Ondas grew Q2 2026 revenue more than 13-fold to $83.8 million and lifted full-year guidance, while adjusted EBITDA losses widened to $50.6 million.
Archer Buys Boeing's Wisk, Insitu and SkyGrid in eVTOL Deal
Archer is acquiring Boeing's Wisk Aero, Insitu and SkyGrid, absorbing a rival air taxi programme and a profitable military drone unit in one deal.
Companies
Unusual Machines
US drone manufacturer and components distributor building NDAA-compliant drones and parts to cut American dependence on Chinese supply chains.
United States
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
Anzu Robotics
US drone company that built the Raptor series under licence from DJI, now owned by XTI Aerospace and developing a replacement after ending production.
United States
Archer Aviation
US eVTOL company developing the Midnight air taxi, now acquiring Boeing's Wisk Aero, Insitu and SkyGrid to add autonomy and defense manufacturing.
United States
Axon Enterprise
US public-safety technology company selling TASER devices, body cameras and evidence software, now a big counter-drone and DFR vendor via Dedrone.
United States
Boeing
Boeing is a US aerospace manufacturer with commercial-airplane, defense and space, and fleet-services businesses.
United States
CACI International
US defense IT and technology company providing counter-drone systems, electronic warfare and intelligence solutions to the US military and agencies.
United States
D-Fend Solutions
Israeli counter-drone company, bought by Motorola Solutions in August 2026, whose RF cyber systems take control of rogue drones and land them.
Israel
Funding
Growth
Dragoneer Investment Group, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Disruptive, Iconiq, Goldman Sachs Alternatives, JPMorganChase, CPP Investments, General Catalyst, Plural, StepStone
HelsingContracts
Powerus
Unusual Machines
Purchase order from Powerus Corporation for US-made drone components (motors, batteries, cameras and…
U.S. Navy
Boeing
Not-to-exceed IDIQ for system improvements, configuration development, integration, production…
Transportation Security Administration
Dedrone Defense
Split award for fixed and portable counter-drone capability built on a D-Fend EnforceAir2 system…
Federal Emergency Management Agency
Dedrone Defense
Survey, installation, integration, testing and support of a counter-drone sensor suite, task order…
Transportation Security Administration
Dedrone Defense
Fixed and mobile radio-frequency counter-drone sensors and software, task order 70T05026F6116N004…
Related Topics
Related
Every funding round FlightBrief has reported, by quarter, size and investor.