Drone Maker Neros Raises $250 Million at $2.5 Billion Valuation for Autonomous Strike Fleets

Neros Technologies, a Southern California startup building large fleets of autonomous UAVs for the military and its allies, has closed a $250 million Series C at a $2.5 billion valuation, the company announced Tuesday. The round was co-led by Sequoia Capital and the U.S. Defense Department's American Strategic Technology Fund (ASTF), with participation from Valor Equity Partners, Thiel Capital, Spark Capital and others.

Strike Drones and Counter-UAS

The Torrance-based company will use the capital to accelerate production of its Archer AI strike drone and Bandit counter-UAS interceptor. Archer is designed for autonomous strike missions with onboard AI target processing, while Bandit is built to intercept hostile drones — a category in high demand as low-cost UAV attacks have proliferated in conflict zones and around critical infrastructure.

Deal Signs

The co-lead from the Defense Department's ASTF — created to channel capital into strategic American technology companies — marks one of the clearest signs yet of government-backed venture investment flowing into autonomous weapons startups. The round is part of a wave of defense-tech financing this month: Vertical Aerospace secured €86.6 million in financing commitments for its eVTOL program, and Moove closed a $250 million Series C, per PR Newswire.

Investors are concentrating on startups with deep technology moats rather than consumer apps, a shift visible across the latest funding rounds, and autonomous systems for national security are drawing some of the largest checks in the sector.