Swarm Aero, a developer of large uncrewed aerial vehicle (UAV) swarms, announced that it has raised $35 million in a Series A funding round led by Two Sigma Ventures and Silent Ventures. The round also included participation from existing investors, including Khosla Ventures, Scribble Ventures, Friends & Family Capital, Construct Capital, Coatue, Founders Fund, Alumni Ventures, and MaC Venture Capital.
The company said the funding brings its total capital raised to $59 million and will be used to accelerate development and deployment of its large UAV platform and the swarm software that allows drones to operate collaboratively at scale.
Headquartered in Oxnard, California, Swarm Aero is building large, multimission UAVs designed to travel long distances and perform both sensing and strike capabilities. The aircraft are intended to introduce a new category of defense systems that combine extended range, higher payload capacity, and lower costs compared with traditional military aircraft.
The company recently opened an 80,000 square foot advanced manufacturing center in Fayetteville, Arkansas at Drake Field, where it plans to scale production. Swarm has developed a manufacturing approach that uses high-rate carbon-composite production to increase airframe throughput and reduce costs.
Swarm’s strategy centers on deploying coordinated fleets of autonomous aircraft. Its command-and-control software platform, called Legion, enables a single operator to manage large numbers of robotic systems by translating mission objectives into commands for vehicles operating in the air, on land, or at sea. The platform has already enabled a single operator to control dozens of live assets in complex operations.
Swarm was previously selected by the Defense Innovation Unit from a pool of 132 companies to develop software for the Autonomous Collaborative Teaming program, which aims to scale drone operations.
Founded in 2022, the company’s team includes engineers and leaders with experience across aerospace and defense organizations, including Scaled Composites, SpaceX, Northrop Grumman, Boeing, Airbus, and Archer. Team members have also participated in major aerospace milestones, including SpaceShipOne and multiple aviation record-setting programs.
Swarm said it plans to double the size of its aircraft team in 2026 as it moves toward mass production and operational deployment of its UAV systems.
KEY QUOTES:
“Aircraft are the plurality of defense purchases and large UAVs are the future of air power. When paired with our command and control software, Swarm’s large UAVs can achieve major combat objectives by cooperating with superhuman dexterity while being several times cheaper than traditional aircraft. This is one of the most consequential developments in modern conflict and we have built an exceptionally talented engineering team to bring this vision to life. This new round of funding will allow us to significantly grow our team and bring the largest swarming aircraft ever built to market.”
Danny Goodman, CEO And Co-Founder, Swarm Aero
“Swarm is redefining American air power through mass produced aircraft and coordinated air capabilities aligned with the U.S. military’s shift toward deterrence through scale and adaptability. It is a mission grounded in protecting the nation and the people who defend it, and from our first meeting we believed that no other team had the technical depth, government experience, and mission focus required to take this on. That conviction was reinforced by Swarm’s rare ability to combine low-cost volume production of a large UAV with software and a data and AI approach that enables many-to-one operator control, and early operational momentum with discerning DOD customers.”
Colin Beirne, Partner, Two Sigma Ventures
“Autonomous affordable mass is at the heart of conventional conflicts. From air superiority to ground support and contested logistics, intelligent aerial systems have emerged as mission critical solutions purpose-built for current and future battlefields. While many are focused on Group 1 drones, Swarm is developing larger, high-performance UAVs manufactured at scale in America — without the absurd cost structure and lead times that plague legacy programs. We co-led Swarm’s pre-seed raise because we knew Danny and team would rapidly define this category in favor of our warfighters. Silent Ventures is humbled to co-lead this Series A as Swarm begins mass production and deployment of its American-made air power.”
Jackson Moses, Managing Partner, Silent Ventures
