A London-based naval drone maker founded by Ukrainians has reached a £4.5bn valuation after raising more than £500m from investors including the UK government. UForce, which manufactures military drones for land, air and sea operations, received £113m from the UK's national wealth fund, making it one of the country's fastest-growing startups with a valuation exceeding £1bn. The firm's equipment has been deployed extensively throughout the war in Ukraine.
The UK defence secretary, Wes Streeting, met UForce chief executive Oleg Rogynskyy on Thursday aboard the British aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales during a defence conference in Oslo, Norway. Streeting piloted a UForce MV7 uncrewed vessel positioned more than 1,500 miles away in the Atlantic Ocean near Portugal. The Ministry of Defence highlighted UForce's maritime capabilities as particularly relevant given rising concerns about Russian naval threats in the north Atlantic and North Sea, where Russian vessels and its shadow fleet have faced accusations of sabotage and spying operations on cables and pipelines.
Rogynskyy, who grew up in Dnipro in eastern Ukraine before founding Silicon Valley data analytics firm People.ai, said the investment would enable UForce to scale production for Ukraine and its allies. He stated that governments and the technology ecosystem must collaborate to develop cost-effective, interoperable and autonomous defence platforms ready for immediate deployment while remaining adaptable to evolving threats. The lead investor alongside the UK fund was Valor Equity Partners, led by former Tesla director Antonio Gracias. Christopher Cavoli, a retired US general who served as Nato's supreme allied commander for Europe until last year, will join UForce's board.
The Ministry of Defence confirmed UForce would invest in a British supply chain through the deal, with more than 70 per cent of content in each UK-built vessel sourced from British suppliers including hulls, engines, electronics and fit-out. Streeting said the partnership would create high-skilled jobs, drive innovation and strengthen the UK's war-fighting capabilities. Former Conservative defence secretary Ben Wallace also sits on UForce's board.
For UK investors and defence-focused businesses, this signals government commitment to backing high-growth defence technology companies with substantial capital and procurement potential, while creating skilled manufacturing jobs in Britain's supply chain.