UForce raises US$700 million to expand unmanned systems production
The financing values the Ukrainian-founded defense technology company at US$6 billion, with investors including U.S. and U.K. funds.
UForce said on Nov. 12 that a Series A round had brought in US$700 million, valuing the company at US$6 billion. The Ukrainian-founded defense technology business said the funding would help it manufacture more unmanned systems for Ukraine and allied countries.
The round's joint leaders were Valor Equity Partners, an American investment firm, and Britain's National Wealth Fund. Another participant, the U.S.-Ukraine Reconstruction Investment Fund (URIF), will support hiring, product development and research within UForce's Ukrainian operations.
Britain's National Wealth Fund separately disclosed that its UForce investment totaled £113 million (US$150 million). The fund described this as its biggest defense investment yet and said it expected hundreds of skilled jobs from the company's expansion in Britain.
UForce intends to increase manufacturing across Europe, the United States, the Middle East and Asia-Pacific. Its plans encompass Magura naval drones, Liut ground robots, Nemesis aerial systems and Predator turret systems. A partnership with American manufacturer ReconCraft is also intended to boost U.S. output of Magura drones.
The company, whose headquarters are in London, also has Kyiv and Washington, D.C., offices. It makes systems that operate without crews across land, sea and air, along with software for controlling them.
