Kraken Technology Group, which develops uncrewed autonomous maritime vehicles, has raised $175m in Series B funding.
DTCP led the round, which also included investment from the British Business Bank, Nato Innovation Fund, Rheinmetall, Inocea Group, HICO, Thesiger Capital Group, BOKA Capital, Supernova Invest and Hakluyt Capital.
As defence has skyrocketed to the top of the European agenda, investors have turned their attention to startups working to ensure the continent’s security. While drones and AI have had most of the attention, VCs are increasingly interested in maritime tech, which is largely focused on protecting Europe and its subsea infrastructure.
London-based Kraken builds a range of maritime defence vessels. Its products include K3 Scout, which can be used for surveillance, logistics and precision strikes; K4 Manta, a high-speed surface transit and covert sub-surface operations; and K5 Kraken, an unmanned surface vehicle (USV) designed for coastal or near-shore combat.
The company has contracts to work with the UK Ministry of Defence, NATO European partners and the US Special Operations Command.
Kraken has signed manufacturing partnerships with companies including Germany’s Rheinmetall, Anduril Industries in the United States and Inocea’s Davie Shipbuilding in Canada. Kraken says it has similar partnerships pending in both the Middle East and the Indo-Pacific.
Mal Crease, founder and CEO of Kraken Technology Group, said: “This significant funding round will 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."
