Ukrainian-founded drone maker UFORCE raises $700M at a $6B valuation, with Britain's wealth fund as co-lead
What's the deal? London-headquartered UFORCE, a defence-technology company founded in Ukraine, has raised a $700 million Series A at a $6 billion valuation, the company said on 12 November. Valor Equity Partners and the UK's National Wealth FundDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → co-led the round, with participation from the U.S.-Ukraine Reconstruction Investment Fund. New investors Menlo Ventures, Xantium and Hiro CapitalDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → joined, and existing backers Shield CapitalDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, Ballistic VenturesDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, Lakestar and SquadraDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → increased their stakes.
The UK angle: The National Wealth Fund is putting in £113 million ($150 million), its largest defence investment to date. The fund says UFORCE will significantly expand its UK footprint, creating hundreds of jobs in engineering, software, AI and manufacturing, and that more than 70% of the content of each UK-built MAGURA MV-series boat will come from British suppliers. Bloomberg reports that the round makes UFORCE the UK's most valuable defence startup.
What does it make? UFORCE builds uncrewed systems for sea, land and air, plus the AI software and command-and-control layer that runs them: MAGURA sea drones, NEMESIS aerial drones, LIUT ground vehicles and PREDATOR turrets. The company says its NEMESIS drones have completed more than 300,000 combat flights and that MAGURA vessels contributed to the destruction of more than a dozen Russian warships in the Black Sea, CNBC reports.
Where's the money going? Manufacturing in Ukraine and in allied countries across the US, Europe, Asia-Pacific and the Middle East, plus R&D and further acquisitions, chief executive Oleg RogynskyyDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → said. Retired General Christopher Cavoli, former NATO Supreme Allied Commander Europe and now a partner at Valor, joins the board.
The numbers: The valuation is six times the roughly $1 billion at which UFORCE raised $50 million in March. Rogynskyy told CNBC that bookings more than doubled over the past year from a base of several hundred million dollars, and that the company turned down offers at higher valuations: "In terms of valuation to bookings, valuation to revenue, this is actually not an aggressive valuation."
Why it matters: The round puts UFORCE alongside Helsing ($1.8 billion in July) and Quantum Systems ($1.2 billion) among Europe's largest defence-tech financings this year, and shows governments moving from grants to direct equity stakes. The open question is whether procurement budgets can keep pace with the sector's valuations; UFORCE was incorporated only in 2025 and does not name its customers.
Sources: UFORCE
National Wealth Fund
CNBC
Bloomberg
Tectonic
Image credit: UFORCE
