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UK drone maker founded by Ukrainians hits £4.5bn value after raising £500m

By · Via The Guardian Business · Published by Everything Blog

In short

UForce reached its new valuation following a major capital injection backed by Valor Equity Partners and a £113m state contribution. The company builds unmanned systems deployed in combat, with maritime drones now targeted to monitor subsea pipelines, cables, and Russian submarines. In a high-profile demonstration, UK Defence Secretary Wes Streeting remotely piloted a vessel situated off Portugal while aboard the aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales in Oslo.

Key points

  • Fresh funding will expand production of multi-domain military drones to supply Ukraine an…: Fresh funding will expand production of multi-domain military drones to supply Ukraine and allied partner nations.
  • Britain plans to deploy specialized sea drones in northern waters to track Russian nuclea…: Britain plans to deploy specialized sea drones in northern waters to track Russian nuclear submarine movements.
  • The company was founded by Ukrainian entrepreneur Oleg Rogynskyy to manufacture defense t…: The company was founded by Ukrainian entrepreneur Oleg Rogynskyy to manufacture defense technology deployed heavily in Ukraine.

Sources checked by our analysis pipeline: 1

A London-based naval drone maker founded by Ukrainians has reached a £4.5bn valuation after it raised more than £500m from investors including the UK government.

UForce, which makes military drones for land, air and sea, received £113m from the UK’s national wealth fund. The investment makes UForce one of the UK’s fastest-growing unicorns – or startups with a valuation of more than $1bn. Its drones have been used extensively in the war in Ukraine.

The UK defence secretary, Wes Streeting, met the UForce founder Oleg Rogynskyy on Thursday onboard the British aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales during a defence conference in Oslo, Norway.

The UK’s Ministry of Defence noted UForce’s maritime capabilities in particular, amid concerns over the increasing threat from Russia in the north Atlantic and North Sea. Russian naval vessels and its “shadow fleet” have been accused of sabotage and spying operations on cables and pipelines, while the UK is planning a fleet of sea-borne drones in the northern seas to track Russia’s nuclear submarine fleet.

Streeting on Thursday piloted a UForce MV7 uncrewed vessel located more…

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