UFORCE raises $700 million at a $6 billion valuation to build its sea, air and ground drones near allied buyers

UFORCE, a defense company founded in Ukraine and based in London, has raised $700 million in a Series A at a $6 billion valuation, it said on Nov. 12. Valor Equity Partners and the UK National Wealth Fund co-led the round, with the U.S.-Ukraine Reconstruction Investment Fund joining. Menlo Ventures, Xantium and Hiro Capital are new investors; Shield Capital, Ballistic Ventures, Lakestar and Squadra added to their stakes.

The price is for factories, not new robots. UFORCE already fields its products: MAGURA uncrewed boats, NEMESIS strike drones, LIUT ground robots and PREDATOR counter-drone turrets. MAGURA boats have helped destroy more than a dozen Russian warships in the Black Sea, the company says. The money is meant to spread production across the U.S., Europe, Asia-Pacific and the Middle East, close to where the systems are used, and to keep supply flowing to Ukraine under attack. Two state funds sit in the round. The U.S. fund's money goes to staff, R&D and new products in Ukraine; Britain's fund says UFORCE will expand production and engineering with British and Ukrainian teams working side by side.

In March UFORCE raised $50 million at a valuation above $1 billion, The Next Web reported. Eight months later investors pay roughly six times as much for products proven in a war.

On Nov. 12, according to the release, Britain's defense secretary piloted a MAGURA MV7 boat from the aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales in Norway while the vessel was in the Atlantic near Portugal, more than 1,500 miles away.