U.S. Marine with the Advanced Infantry Training Battalion perform a kinetic FPV drone range. | Source: U.S. Marine Corps
Geopolitical conflicts have led to renewed interest in U.S.-produced drones and autonomous systems. Neros Technologies this week closed a $75 million Series B fundraising round. The military drone maker said latest capital brings its total raised capital to more than $120 million. It also plans to accelerate the expansion of its production capacity while strengthening a robust China-free domestic supply chain.
The Series B round followed a period of rapid production scaling, significant revenue growth, and successful customer deployments, said Neros. These deployments include a large drone purchase by the U.S. Marine Corps and the company’s selection as one of the primary suppliers of first-person view (FPV) drones to the U.S. Army through the Purpose-Built Attritable Systems (PBAS) program.
“Our Series B fundraise represents the culmination of more than two years of company growth, focused product development, and aggressive iteration based on real battlefield results,” stated Soren Monroe-Anderson, CEO of Neros. “The credit goes to the relentless efforts of our entire team that has gotten us to this point, and we are grateful to our investors who believe in our vision of reshoring an American drone industrial base.”
Founded in 2023, Neros said it has already shipped thousands of its systems to Ukraine and the U.S. Department of War. The El Segundo, Calif.-based company designs the majority of its components in-house and focuses on improving key performance areas, including resistance to electronic warfare.
Neros plans to ramp up R&D and manufacturing
Sequoia Capital led Neros’ Series B round, with participation from Vy Capital US and Interlagos.
“Neros is one of the fastest companies in history to be awarded meaningful defense contracts,” noted Shaun Maguire, partner at Sequoia Capital. “It shows how mission critical FPV drones are.”
“Drone performance and high-throughput production go hand in hand,” added Achal Upadhyaya, founder and CEO of Interlagos. “Neros should be the first 1 million-drone factory in the United States.”
Neros said it will deploy the new funding to scale the production of its flagship Archer and Archer Strike drone platforms, as well as its Ground Control Systems. It will directly support Neros’ vertically integrated manufacturing approach to insource key steps of the production process while enabling investments in allied component suppliers, the company claimed.
In addition, Neros said it will increase research and development into architectures to support next-generation autonomous systems. “Ultimately, this raise amplifies Neros’ ability to deliver flexible, domestically produced, globally competitive FPV capabilities to the American warfighter,” it said.
Archer is an FPV drone built for modular payloads and resilient communications. | Source: Neros
Work with U.S. allies to increase
In conjunction with its U.S. Army and Marine Corps programs, Neros said it is increasing its focus on foreign allies in other key regions. The company plans to continue growing its Ukrainian office in Kyiv and has already been delivering drones to the U.K. Ministry of Defense.
“Both government and private partners understand the critical gaps in the West’s drone manufacturing capabilities and are deploying the needed capital to start filling them,” said Monroe-Anderson. “We’ve seen first-hand the positive attitude shift over the last 18 months, but there’s still a long way to go. Fundamental challenges with drone technology and production will not be solved overnight, but Neros is committed to leading the charge,”
The company said its global stance allows it to serve customers with urgent requirements and to support a more stable demand curve. Neros said it is hiring aggressively in all locations, including its headquarters in Los Angeles, Kyiv, London, and Washington, D.C.
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