Saronic Technologies has raised $1.75 billion in a Series D funding round, valuing the company at $9.25 billion, as it accelerates efforts to scale autonomous shipbuilding and strengthen maritime capabilities for the U.S. and its allies.
The round was led by Kleiner Perkins, with participation from new investors including Advent International, Bessemer Venture Partners, DFJ Growth, and BAM Elevate, alongside existing backers such as 8VC, Caffeinated Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, Elad Gil, and Franklin Templeton.
The funding comes at a time of heightened global focus on maritime security and industrial capacity. Saronic is positioning itself to address what it describes as a long-term decline in U.S. shipbuilding capabilities by combining autonomous vessel design with modern manufacturing infrastructure.
A central component of the company’s strategy is expanding production capacity through its existing facilities in Louisiana and Texas, as well as developing a next-generation shipyard known as Port Alpha. The investment will support scaling production, advancing engineering capabilities, and enabling faster deployment of autonomous vessels.
Saronic is building a portfolio of autonomous surface vessels ranging from smaller 24-foot Corsair models to larger 180-foot Marauder ships, with plans to expand further into systems addressing both surface and subsurface maritime challenges. The company aims to meet growing demand from government and allied customers for vessels with greater endurance, payload capacity, and operational range.
The company’s momentum follows a strong 2025, during which it raised $600 million in Series C funding at a $4 billion valuation and secured a $392 million production contract with the U.S. Navy. It also launched its 180-foot autonomous vessel, Marauder, completing its first hull in under six months.
Saronic has invested heavily in physical infrastructure, including acquiring and expanding a Louisiana shipyard with a $300 million commitment to a 300,000-square-foot facility expected to create approximately 1,500 jobs. The company has also expanded its Austin headquarters, opened additional hubs in San Diego and Washington, D.C., and launched international operations in the United Kingdom and Australia.
With a workforce exceeding 1,300 employees and growing partnerships across defense and commercial sectors, Saronic is aiming to play a central role in modernizing shipbuilding through autonomy-driven manufacturing.
KEY QUOTES:
“Over the past decades, the U.S. has experienced a steady erosion of its ability to build ships and manufacture critical maritime infrastructure. We are confronting this challenge with a fundamentally new model of American shipbuilding, one that integrates first-principles engineering, advanced manufacturing, and software-defined production to deliver autonomous vessels with unprecedented speed, precision, and scale. The new capital will accelerate Saronic’s ability to bring that model to life, generate entirely new classes of autonomous ships and maritime capabilities, and scale U.S. shipbuilding capacity on a timeline not seen since World War II.”
Dino Mavrookas, Co-Founder And CEO, Saronic
“Maritime dominance isn’t just about technology — it requires the production capacity to field it at scale. Those two things rarely come together. What makes Saronic special is that they’re building both: autonomous ships designed from day one to push the boundaries of what’s possible, and the manufacturing infrastructure to produce them consistently. That’s what turns a technical breakthrough into an enduring platform advantage. It is an honor to support a company at the forefront of autonomous systems and advanced manufacturing, driven by mission and purpose.”
Ilya Fushman, Partner, Kleiner Perkins
