UK drone boat maker Kraken raises $175M, hits $1B valuation

Kraken Technology Group closed a $175 million Series B on Wednesday, backed by DTCP, the British Business Bank, the NATO Innovation Fund, and Rheinmetall.krakentechnology+1
Founded in 2020, Kraken builds uncrewed surface vessels for surveillance and combat missions and has secured contracts with the UK MOD and U.S. Special Operations Command.vestbee+1
The funding will expand global manufacturing through partnerships with Rheinmetall in Germany, Anduril Industries in the U.S., and Davie Shipbuilding in Canada.krakentechnology

British maritime defence company Kraken Technology Group announced on Wednesday the close of a $175 million Series B funding round at a $1 billion valuation, making it one of Europe's newest defence unicorns.krakentechnology+2

A New Defence Unicorn

The round was led by Digital Transformation Capital Partners (DTCP) and backed by the British Business Bank, the NATO Innovation Fund, Rheinmetall, and Inocea Group, along with venture capital firms HICO, Thesiger Capital Group, BOKA Capital, Supernova Invest, and Hakluyt Capital. Early investors including the UK's National Security Strategic Investment Fund, SmartCap, Notion Capital, and Speedinvest converted earlier investments into equity as part of the round.vestbee+2

The British Business Bank said it invested £27 million in the company as part of the raise.british-business-bank

Founded in 2020 by former offshore powerboat racer Mal Crease, Kraken builds uncrewed surface vessels designed for surveillance, logistics, mine countermeasures, and force protection missions. Its platforms are now deployed in support of multiple ongoing conflicts, according to the company's announcement.krakentechnology+3

Contracts and Global Expansion

The funding follows what Kraken described as a breakout year, during which it secured contracts from the UK Ministry of Defence, NATO European partners, and the US Special Operations Command. In March, the Royal Navy announced plans to buy 20 uncrewed Kraken boats as testbeds for future operations.royalnavy.mod+2

Kraken plans to use the capital to expand localised manufacturing globally. The company already has production partnerships with Rheinmetall in Germany, Anduril Industries in the United States, and Inocea's Davie Shipbuilding in Canada, with additional partnerships in the Middle East and Indo-Pacific regions expected soon.krakentechnology

Investor Confidence in Maritime Defence

Ole Aguirre, a partner at DTCP, said in a statement: "The maritime domain is profoundly under-invested, and Kraken has taken a leading role in bringing affordable, mission-critical high-speed uncrewed vessels to the market in a very short time."krakentechnology

Crease said the funding would "accelerate Kraken's global roll-out, enabling the deployment of hardened, reliable, mission-ready capabilities for NATO and its worldwide partners at an unprecedented scale in the maritime domain."krakentechnology

PJT Partners acted as exclusive financial adviser and Clifford Chance as legal counsel to Kraken on the transaction.krakentechnology

Sources (15)