Two-year-old British air defence startup Cambridge Aerospace has hit a $3.4bn valuation in a $300m Series C funding round led by US-based investment firm and SpaceX backer DFJ Growth. Investors including Lux Capital, Axel, Lakestar and Elad Gil also participated.
Investors and governments are increasingly eager to back air defence systems — those designed to intercept enemy drones and missiles. The new raise comes only a few months after Cambridge Aerospace said in a press release it raised $200m in Series B funding.
“Air defence is in focus because modern conflicts have made the gap impossible to ignore — Europe needs systems that are faster to build, cheaper to field and easier to scale,” Adam Niewinski, cofounder and managing partner of Polish investor OTB Ventures, told Sifted back in March.
Air defence systems have become a key component of the current conflicts in Iran and Ukraine.
Cambridge Aerospace’s main product is a drone and low-speed missile interceptor, Skyhammer. It also aims to bring its next product, rocket-powered Starhammer, to the market in 2027.
The company says the new funding will support Cambridge Aerospace as it grows its manufacturing capabilities and delivers on contracts; it says it will also keep investing in its two interceptor products.
In April, the UK government announced a multi-million-pound contract with Cambridge Aerospace to supply its interceptor missiles to the UK armed forces and its Gulf partners; in May, it also announced the Skyhammer missiles were successfully tested in Jordan.
“This valuation is a great vote of confidence in Britain,” newly-appointed UK defence secretary Wes Streeting said in a statement. “It is exactly what our unicorn scheme is designed to create — British startups scaling into billion-pound companies, creating skilled jobs, cementing the UK’s position at the forefront of defence innovation.”
