Swarmer, a Ukrainian company that develops software systems for uncrewed vehicles, has raised $15m (Hrv617.05m) in a Series A funding round.
This investment is said to be the largest funding round for a Ukrainian defence technology company since the onset of the conflict with Russia.
The financing was led by Broadband Capital Investments and included contributions from R-G.AI, D3 Ventures, Radius Capital, Green Flag Ventures and Network VC.
Swarmer founder and CEO Serhii Kupriienko said: “This funding enables us to scale our operations and offer advanced swarming capabilities to every unmanned vehicle, in Ukraine and across NATO-aligned nations. Western democracies should be able to deploy as many drones and robots as they can produce – without being constrained by the number of trained pilots.”
The company is providing a “software-only solution, which is designed to be compatible with various hardware platforms".
Swarmer's system utilises data from more than 82,000 combat missions it has conducted, along with millions of additional missions flown by other entities.
The AI is trained to emulate the performance of top pilots and make tactical decisions in real time.
Its technology empowers groups of drones to carry out missions autonomously by translating objectives set by humans into coordinated actions.
The funding comes as Ukraine continues to be a pivotal battleground for drone warfare innovation.
The country is expected to deploy approximately five million drones into combat within the year.
Swarmer said that it has already showcased its capability with swarms of up to 25 drones operating in global navigation satellite system (GNSS)-denied environments. The company also plans to demonstrate operations involving more than 100 drones of various types in combined-arms exercises.
Ukraine Deputy Prime Minister and Digital Transformation Minister Mykhailo Fedorov said: "Ukrainian developers are creating solutions that have no analogues and are transforming the battlefield itself. The fact that American investors are investing in our technologies shows that the world not only believes in Ukraine’s potential but is ready to help us bring these battle-proven innovations to the front line at scale.”
In July this year, the Norwegian Government and Kongsberg signed two contracts with two Ukrainian companies to develop and build low-cost interceptors and uncrewed surface vessels inside Ukraine.
