Which startups have raised the most funding in the military drones market?

Last updated: 13 July 2026

We update this military drones market startup list every month.

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The military drones market is one of the most active areas in defense technology, with funding concentrated around autonomous systems, reconnaissance drones, naval drones, and counter-drone platforms.

This list ranks startups by cumulative funding raised, so investors can quickly see which military drone companies have attracted the most capital.

We update this list every month to keep the ranking useful as new defense funding rounds, IPOs, acquisitions, and shutdowns appear.

A quick summary table

Metric Value
Most funded startup Anduril Industries, $11.3B raised
Second most funded startup Helsing, $2.7B raised
Largest funding round Anduril Industries, $5.0B Series H in May 2026
Median funding $49M across ranked military drones startups
Share of funding captured by the top 10 About 91.0% of total ranked funding
Median time since last round About 18 months
Startups that raised funding in the last 12 months 23 startups
Military drone startups above $1B raised 5 startups
Active military drone companies in the ranking 44 startups
Public or IPO-linked drone companies 6 companies

Top startups in the military drones market ranked by total funding raised

Here is an updated table that ranks the top startups in the military drones market based on the total amount of funding they have raised to date.

The table also includes the total number of funding rounds, the date and size of the latest round, the financing type (e.g. Series A, equity financing), key investors, the startup’s current status (active, IPO, acquired, or shut down), and a confidence score based on the data collected (we excluded startups with very low data confidence, to make sure everything is reliable).

If you're interested in knowing how much these startups are worth, you can check our list of the top startups in the military drones market ranked by valuation.

# Startup What They Do Total Raised ($) Total Rounds Last Round Date Last Round Amount ($) Last Round Type Key Investors Current Stage Confidence
1 Anduril Industries Autonomous defense systems platform $11.3B 9 May 2026 $5.0B Series H Thrive Capital, Andreessen Horowitz Active Full
2 Helsing AI defense and autonomous drones $2.7B 5 May 2026 $1.2B Late-stage reported round Dragoneer, Lightspeed Active Strong
3 Saronic Technologies Autonomous naval surface vessels $2.6B 4 March 2026 $1.8B Series D Kleiner Perkins, DFJ Growth, Glade Brook Capital Active Strong
4 Shield AI Autonomous aircraft AI pilots $2.3B 10 March 2026 $1.5B Series G Advent International, JPMorganChase SRI Active Partial
5 Quantum Systems AI-powered military reconnaissance drones $1.8B 5 July 2026 $1.2B Series D Blackstone, Airbus, Advent Active Strong
6 Skydio Autonomous American drone systems $825M 8 April 2026 $85M Series F / later round Hercules Capital, Greenline Active Strong
7 Stark Weaponized autonomous drone systems $667M 4 June 2026 $567M Growth round Sequoia Capital, Founders Fund, NATO Innovation Fund Active Partial
8 Epirus High-power microwave air defense $537M 4 March 2025 $250M Series D 8VC, Washington Harbour Partners, General Dynamics Land Systems Active Partial
9 AEVEX Aerospace Autonomous military drone systems $475M 2 June 2026 $155M Follow-on public offering Public investors, Goldman Sachs, BofA Securities IPO Strong
10 Red Cat Holdings Defense drone systems provider $423M 4 May 2026 $225M Public offering Public-market investors IPO Partial
11 DroneShield AI counter-drone defense systems $190M 5 August 2024 $78M Post-IPO placement Institutional investors, sophisticated investors, public shareholders IPO Partial
12 Raphe mPhibr Indian military UAV manufacturer $145M 5 June 2025 $100M Series B General Catalyst, Think Investments, Amal Parikh Active Partial
13 Firestorm Labs Expeditionary drone manufacturing systems $130M 3 April 2026 $82M Series B Washington Harbour Partners, NEA, Ondas Active Strong
14 Dedrone Smart counter-drone airspace security $130M 8 July 2022 $30M Series C-1 Axon, Aqton Partners, Menlo Ventures Acquired Strong
15 Neros Technologies Low-cost combat drone manufacturing $121M 3 November 2025 $75M Series B Sequoia Capital Active Strong
16 Elroy Air Autonomous cargo VTOL drones $116M 6 November 2024 $7M Series A-V / Venture Shasta Ventures, Hone Capital, undisclosed Active Partial
17 HevenDrones / Heven AeroTech Hydrogen defense UAV systems $115M 3 December 2025 $100M Series B IonQ, Texas Venture Partners, BasisTech Active Partial
18 Dominion Dynamics Arctic autonomous defense systems $115M 2 June 2026 $100M Series A Georgian, Valor Equity Partners, Bessemer Venture Partners Active Strong
19 Terra Drone Drone UTM and inspection systems $98M 3 January 2023 $14M Series C / Strategic INPEX, Mitsui, Wa’ed Ventures IPO Strong
20 TEKEVER AI autonomous defense UAS $97M 3 May 2025 Undisclosed Series B / Extension Ventura Capital, Baillie Gifford, NATO Innovation Fund Active Partial
21 XTEND AI tactical drone robotics $90M 3 July 2025 $30M Series B extension Aliya Capital Partners, Protego Ventures, Claltech Active Strong
22 ideaForge Indian defense UAV maker $83M 5 June 2023 $29M IPO fresh issue Public investors, Nomura, Goldman Sachs IPO Strong
23 Dronamics Cargo drone airline $78M 4 June 2025 $34M Series A extension European Innovation Council, SDF, Speedinvest Active Partial
24 Volansi VTOL cargo drone logistics $75M 5 September 2020 $50M Series B Icon Ventures, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Y Combinator Acquired Partial
25 Fortem Technologies Counter-drone radar and interceptors $69M 5 February 2023 $18M Series B / venture round Lockheed Martin Ventures, Hanwha Aerospace, AIM13 Active Partial
26 D-Fend Solutions RF cyber counter-drone takeover $66M 3 December 2024 $31M Series C / growth round Israel Growth Partners, Vertex Ventures, Vertex Growth Active Strong
27 Wingtra VTOL mapping drones $58M 3 August 2024 $26M Series B1 RKKVC, Brick & Mortar Ventures, DiamondStream Partners Active Partial
28 NewSpace Research and Technologies Military swarm drone systems $57M 3 March 2024 $33M Bridge / Growth Equity Cornerstone Venture Partners, 360 ONE Asset, Volrado Venture Partners Active Partial
29 Garuda Aerospace Drone manufacturing and services $50M 9 April 2025 $12M Series B Venture Catalysts, SphitiCap, WeFounderCircle Active Partial
30 SkySafe Cloud drone detection systems $49M 6 January 2025 $4M Venture / extension Andreessen Horowitz, Kingfisher Investment Advisors, Gaingels Active Strong
31 Aeronautics Group Israeli unmanned aircraft systems $40M 2 June 2017 $15M IPO primary issuance Leumi Partners, public investors Acquired Strong
32 Swarmer Autonomous drone swarm software $35M 3 March 2026 $17M IPO Public investors, Lucid Capital Markets IPO Strong
33 Terra Industries African autonomous security drones $34M 2 March 2026 $22M Seed Extension Lux Capital, 8VC, Nova Global Active Strong
34 WhiteFox Defense Counter-drone airspace security $32M 5 June 2021 $5M Series A extension Marlinspike Capital, Tiga Investments, Serra Ventures Active Full
35 Robin Radar Systems Drone and bird radar $26M 3 January 2025 $26M Growth financing ABP, Parcom, INKEF Capital Acquired Partial
36 Darkhive Military autonomous drone systems $25M 2 September 2024 $21M Series A Ten Eleven Ventures, Crosslink Capital, RTX Ventures Active Full
37 Donecle Drone aircraft inspection $19M 3 April 2026 $11M Series B / Growth IRDI Capital Investissement, SWEN Capital Partners, GSO Innovation Active Strong
38 SpearUAV Encapsulated loitering drones $17M 1 May 2022 $17M Series B UVision Air, undisclosed investors Acquired Strong
39 DELAIR Long-range reconnaissance UAVs $17M 3 September 2018 Undisclosed Expansion equity Intel Capital, Andromède, Bpifrance Active Strong
40 Overwatch Imaging AI airborne ISR imaging $17M 4 July 2025 $6M Series A-II / venture round Squadra Ventures, Shield Capital, L3Harris Technologies Active Partial
41 Vermeer GPS-denied drone navigation $17M 7 October 2025 $10M Series A Draper Associates, AeroX Ventures, Rockaway Ventures Active Partial
42 Teal Drones Small defense reconnaissance drones $14M 3 2017 $10M Series A Sovereign Wealth Fund of Oman, Alumni Ventures, Harpoon VC Acquired Partial
43 Animal Dynamics Bio-inspired military drones $10M 6 November 2018 $8M Series A Oxford Sciences Innovation, Kindred Capital, Tanarra Capital Shutdown Partial
44 Regulus Cyber GNSS spoofing drone protection $10M 3 May 2020 $4M Series B SPDG Ventures, Sierra Ventures, Canaan Partners Israel Active Strong
45 Parallel Flight Technologies Heavy-lift hybrid UAVs $9M 5+ 2025 Undisclosed Equity Crowdfunding StartEngine, crowdfunding investors Active Partial
46 Farsight Vision Battlefield intelligence and drone autonomy $9M 1 February 2026 $9M Seed Axon Enterprise, SmartCap Defence Fund Active Full
47 Elistair Tethered surveillance drones $8M 2 March 2021 $6M Series B Omnes, Starquest Capital Active Strong
48 FlightWave Aerospace Long-range VTOL ISR drones $8M 1+ August 2017 Undisclosed Seed Breakout Labs, WorldQuant Ventures, Decisive Point Acquired Partial
49 CERBAIR Anti-drone detection and mitigation $8M 2 February 2020 $6M Series A / venture Boundary Holding, Aubé Management, MBDA Active Strong
50 General Aeronautics Agriculture and aerospace drones $7M 8 December 2024 $3M Series A / A+ Fowler Westrup, Mela Ventures, Wealthy Ideas Active Partial
51 Callen-Lenz UAS design and integration $7M 1 August 2021 $7M Growth equity Foresight Group Acquired Strong
52 BonV Aero Heavy-lift logistics drones $6M 8 August 2025 $1M Seed Udyat Ventures, Tim Draper, Unicorn India Ventures Active Partial
53 Easy Aerial Autonomous drone-in-a-box systems $6M 2 August 2020 $6M Series A BIRD Foundation, Founder Institute Active Partial
54 Unmanned Defense Systems Battlefield UAV swarm systems $4M 1 May 2024 $4M Series A Coinvest Capital, Vytenis Buzas, Ernestas Kalabuckas Active Full
55 Origin Robotics Reusable autonomous defense drones $3M 1 October 2024 $3M Pre-seed Change Ventures, Silicon Roundabout Ventures Active Strong
56 Airlogix Military UAV systems $3M 1 February 2026 $3M Seed bValue, SMOK Ventures, angel investors Active Strong
57 Bavovna AI GPS-denied drone navigation $3M 2 November 2024 $2M Late Seed Presto Tech Horizons, Network VC, Allied VC Active Partial
58 FlyingBasket Heavy cargo delivery drones $2M 4 June 2023 $2M Seed Cysero, B Heroes, MassChallenge Active Partial
59 Zulu Defence Systems Tactical air-defense drone systems $1M 2 May 2025 $0M Angel Finvolve, India Accelerator, Hardik Kothiya Active Strong

Key funding trends in the military drones market

Insights

  • Military drone funding is extremely concentrated, with the top 10 companies capturing about 91% of all ranked capital in this dataset
  • Anduril Industries alone raised $11.3B, which is more than Helsing, Saronic Technologies, Shield AI, Quantum Systems, and Skydio combined
  • The top five military drone startups raised about $20.7B, showing that investors are backing broad autonomy platforms more aggressively than niche drone hardware companies
  • Saronic Technologies reached $2.6B across only four rounds, which suggests unusually high capital intensity for autonomous naval defense platforms
  • European defense autonomy is now attracting very large rounds, with Helsing and Quantum Systems each closing roughly $1.2B latest funding rounds
  • Firestorm Labs and Neros Technologies raised $251M combined, showing strong investor appetite for lower-cost, scalable military drone manufacturing
  • Counter-drone specialists such as Dedrone, SkySafe, D-Fend Solutions, WhiteFox Defense, Regulus Cyber, and CERBAIR raised about $295M combined, far below the largest autonomy platforms
  • Several major 2026 rounds from Anduril, Helsing, Quantum Systems, Saronic, Dominion Dynamics, and AEVEX Aerospace show that military drone capital formation accelerated sharply this year

A few word about our methodology

As you can see, we built a database that ranks startups in the military drones market based on their total cumulative fundraising. To create this ranking, we reviewed many sources and cross-checked information across multiple places.

Whenever possible, we prioritized official company communications, since these are usually the most reliable sources for military drone funding amounts. When those were not available, we relied on reputable industry sources such as TechCrunch, Crunchbase, Financial Times or Forbes (to name a few).

We excluded random blogs, unverified websites, and any sources that could not be validated.

When funding rounds were announced in other currencies such as euros, Swiss francs, Singapore dollars, Australian dollars, or rupees, we converted them into approximate USD equivalents for consistency.

Sometimes different sources report slightly different numbers, or the exact round size is not fully disclosed. In those cases, we flag the uncertainty and assign a confidence label to each startup, visible in the last column.

Here is what they mean.

Full confidence: The company’s equity fundraising history can be reconstructed completely from public sources. The rounds, dates, amounts, and key investors are clearly identified, with no meaningful gaps.

Strong confidence: The fundraising history is largely complete and reliable. There may be a small missing detail, such as incomplete investor information or a minor round with limited data, but the overall record is clear.

Partial confidence: The main fundraising rounds can be identified, but the record is incomplete or somewhat mixed. Some rounds may be missing or certain funding events may be difficult to separate clearly.

Low confidence: Public information is too limited, inconsistent, or ambiguous to reliably reconstruct the company’s equity fundraising history.

When the confidence level is too low, we take a conservative approach and exclude the company from the ranking. We don’t want to include data that cannot be reliably verified.

In a world where LLMs hallucinate and unreliable information is everywhere, our goal is simple: provide data you can trust.

If you want the full detail on a specific calculation, feel free to contact us and we will gladly explain.

Finally, know that we update the dataset once per month, so come back here if you need fresh information.

Who is the author of this content?

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