Key facts
- UForce said the Series A round valued it at $6 billion and was co-led by Valor Equity Partners and the National Wealth Fund.
- The U.S.-Ukraine Reconstruction Investment Fund took part, its largest emerging technology investment to date, per Conor Coleman.
- UForce plans production expansion in the United States, Europe, Asia-Pacific and the Middle East across four named systems.
- The company is partnering with U.S. manufacturer ReconCraft to raise Magura naval drone production in the United States.
Ukrainian-founded defense technology company UForce said on Nov. 12 that it had raised $700 million in a Series A funding round, valuing the company at $6 billion. The company, headquartered in London with offices in Kyiv and Washington, D.C., develops uncrewed systems for air, land and sea operations and the software that controls them.
The round was co-led by U.S. investment firm Valor Equity Partners and the U.K.'s National Wealth Fund, with participation from the U.S.-Ukraine Reconstruction Investment Fund. Conor Coleman, head of investments at the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation, said the URIF investment is its largest in the emerging technology sector to date. Other investors included Menlo Ventures, Xantium and Hiro Capital, while existing backers Shield Capital, Ballistic Ventures, Lakestar and Squadra increased their stakes, UForce said.
The U.K.'s National Wealth Fund separately announced a 113-million-pound ($150 million) investment in UForce, its largest defense investment to date, and said it expects the company's U.K. expansion to create hundreds of skilled jobs. UForce said it plans to expand production in the United States, Europe, Asia-Pacific and the Middle East, including for its Magura naval drones, Nemesis aerial systems, Liut ground robots and Predator turret systems, and is partnering with U.S. manufacturer ReconCraft to increase Magura production in the United States.
"The war in Ukraine has shown that effective defense requires systems that can keep improving as threats change," CEO Oleg Rogynsky said. In September, Rogynskyy told DOU the company was recruiting engineers with Formula 1 experience to help develop the next generation of Magura naval drones.