Key Takeaways
- • UFORCE, a defence-technology company founded in Ukraine and headquartered in London, raised a $700 million Series A round at a $6 billion valuation, according to a PR Newswire release.
- • The round was co-led by Valor Equity Partners and the UK National Wealth Fund, with participation from the U.S.-Ukraine Reconstruction Investment Fund (URIF), which called it its largest emerging technology investment to date.
- • Proceeds will fund expanded production of the MAGURA USV, NEMESIS UAV, LIUT UGV and PREDATOR turret families, with manufacturing distributed across the U.S., Europe, Asia-Pacific and the Middle East.
- • Retired General Christopher G. Cavoli, former NATO Supreme Allied Commander Europe and a Partner at Valor Equity Partners, is joining UFORCE's board.
- • Other investors include Menlo Ventures, Xantium and Hiro Capital, while existing backers Shield Capital, Ballistic Ventures, Lakestar and Squadra increased their stakes.
Summary
UFORCE has announced a $700 million Series A financing at a $6 billion valuation, according to a company press release distributed by PR Newswire. The round was co-led by Valor Equity Partners and the UK National Wealth Fund (NWF), with participation from the U.S.-Ukraine Reconstruction Investment Fund (URIF). The round also drew Menlo Ventures, Xantium and Hiro Capital, and existing investors Shield Capital, Ballistic Ventures, Lakestar and Squadra increased their stakes. The company did not disclose further terms in the release.
UFORCE builds autonomous uncrewed platforms across sea, land and air, along with the AI software and command-and-control (C2) layer that operates them. The company states its goal is to make defence a hundred times cheaper than offensive operations. Its product families include the MAGURA uncrewed surface vessel, the NEMESIS strike UAV, the LIUT ground robotic platform and the PREDATOR counter-UAS turret. According to the company, the MAGURA family has contributed to the destruction of more than a dozen Russian warships in the Black Sea, and NEMESIS platforms have logged more than 300,000 combat flights across 100+ Ukrainian units. These claims are the company's own and were not independently verified in the release.
The new capital is intended to support continuous production for Ukrainian front-line forces, expand R&D, and distribute manufacturing closer to theatres where systems are needed. UFORCE said it will work with allied partners, including converting existing maritime and automotive manufacturing capacity, and recently announced a partnership with ReconCraft to scale U.S. MAGURA production. The company also cited its role as a founding member of the EU-Ukraine Drone Alliance and its work within NATO and Joint Expeditionary Force networks.
UK and US officials endorsed the deal. Oliver Holbourn, CEO of the National Wealth Fund, said the investment would bring production and engineering of autonomous systems to the UK and create high-skilled jobs. Conor Coleman, Head of Investments at the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation on behalf of URIF, described the transaction as URIF's largest emerging technology investment to date. UFORCE CEO Oleg Rogynskyy said the funding would help scale production for Ukraine and supply allied nations. General (Ret.) Christopher G. Cavoli's board appointment was also announced.
UFORCE builds autonomous uncrewed platforms across sea, land and air, along with the AI software and command-and-control (C2) layer that operates them. The company states its goal is to make defence a hundred times cheaper than offensive operations. Its product families include the MAGURA uncrewed surface vessel, the NEMESIS strike UAV, the LIUT ground robotic platform and the PREDATOR counter-UAS turret. According to the company, the MAGURA family has contributed to the destruction of more than a dozen Russian warships in the Black Sea, and NEMESIS platforms have logged more than 300,000 combat flights across 100+ Ukrainian units. These claims are the company's own and were not independently verified in the release.
The new capital is intended to support continuous production for Ukrainian front-line forces, expand R&D, and distribute manufacturing closer to theatres where systems are needed. UFORCE said it will work with allied partners, including converting existing maritime and automotive manufacturing capacity, and recently announced a partnership with ReconCraft to scale U.S. MAGURA production. The company also cited its role as a founding member of the EU-Ukraine Drone Alliance and its work within NATO and Joint Expeditionary Force networks.
UK and US officials endorsed the deal. Oliver Holbourn, CEO of the National Wealth Fund, said the investment would bring production and engineering of autonomous systems to the UK and create high-skilled jobs. Conor Coleman, Head of Investments at the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation on behalf of URIF, described the transaction as URIF's largest emerging technology investment to date. UFORCE CEO Oleg Rogynskyy said the funding would help scale production for Ukraine and supply allied nations. General (Ret.) Christopher G. Cavoli's board appointment was also announced.
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