Ukrainian startup Swarmer, a developer of an autonomous drone swarm software, has secured $15 million in a Series A round, the largest investment in a Ukrainian defence tech company since the start of the war.
- Founded in 2023 by Serhii Kupriienko and Alex Fink, Swarmer develops hardware-agnostic AI software that allows unmanned vehicles to act autonomously and operate in coordinated swarms. The system translates human-defined objectives into precise tactical actions and leverages data from over 82,000 combat missions to replicate top-pilot performance in real-time.
"Our software has proven itself in live combat across tens of thousands of missions. This funding enables us to scale operations and provide advanced swarming capabilities to every unmanned vehicle, in Ukraine and NATO-aligned nations," comments Serhii Kupriienko, Swarmer's CEO.
- The fresh round was led by Broadband Capital Investments, with participation from its existing investors: US defence tech company R-G.AI, D3 Ventures, Green Flag Ventures, Radius Capital, and Network VC.
- Last year, Swarmer closed a $2.7 million funding round. Prior to that, Swarmer had also received funding from D3 Ventures. The deal size was not disclosed, though the fund’s standard check is $125,000. The startup also secured a $50,000 grant from Brave1.
- Swarmer has already demonstrated swarms of up to 25 drones in GNSS-denied environments and plans to scale to more than 100 drones, integrating UAS, USV, UGV, and stationary launchers in coordinated operations.
"Swarmer’s rapid pace of innovation is driven by real-world battlefield experience, enabling them to iterate and refine their AI and autonomy systems faster than traditional defence companies,” said Michael Rapp, Managing Member of Broadband Capital Investments.
- Beyond defence, the platform has potential applications in precision agriculture, emergency response, infrastructure inspection, and environmental monitoring.
