Ukraine-founded drone startup UForce secures $700 million funding round at $6 billion valuation

Nov 12 (Reuters) - Ukrainian-founded drone-maker UForce said on Thursday it had raised $700 million at a $6 billion valuation, as it looks to expand production of autonomous sea, land and air systems for Ukraine and allied countries.  

• Valor Equity Partners and Britain's National Wealth Fund co-led the funding round, with participation from the US-Ukraine Reconstruction Investment Fund

• The investment comes as Ukraine and Russia continue to adapt their battlefield technology and tactics in the war that followed Moscow's full-scale invasion in February 2022, with drones and robotic systems playing an increasingly important role in military operations

• UForce, which is headquartered in London and has hubs in Kyiv and Washington, develops uncrewed maritime, aerial and ground platforms, along with command-and-control software used to coordinate them

• The valuation places UForce among a growing group of highly valued European technology startups

• In September, France-based generative AI developer Mistral reached a $24 billion valuation and AI voice generation startup ElevenLabs — co-founded by Polish entrepreneurs and headquartered in London — reached a $22 billion valuation.

• Britain-based AI infrastructure company Nscale was valued at $14.6 billion in March, while Swedish vibe-coding startup Lovable said in August it had reached a valuation of $13.3 billion

(Reporting by Ruchika Khanna and Rishabh Jaiswal in Bengaluru; Editing by Jochelle Mendonca)