Global segment ranking · Industrial, deeptech & space › Defense
The world’s most valuable drone startups
Companies that build uncrewed aircraft and the software that flies them: military and dual-use drones (reconnaissance, loitering munitions, interceptor drones, autonomy and swarms), industrial and commercial drones, and delivery operators that fly their own aircraft. Ranked worldwide by AI-estimated valuation, with listed drone makers shown in grey at their market value for reference. The market sets the value; our AI estimates it.
Key metrics for this segment: key milestone. Figures as published by each company or the press, dated, not recalculated. The AIs weigh them alongside funding history and comparables.
Not in this segment. Listed, so not ranked: AeroVironment, AEVEX, Red Cat (owner of Teal Drones), ideaForge, Parrot, Volatus Aerospace, AIRO, ACSL, Terra Drone, Draganfly, AgEagle, XTEND (NYSE since Sep 2026), Swarmer, Matternet (public via reverse merger), Ondas (owner of Airobotics) and Unusual Machines (components). Bought or controlled by a group: Wing (Alphabet), Zone 5 (Kongsberg), Ascent AeroSystems (Robinson), Dhaksha (Coromandel), Asteria (Reliance). Family-owned without outside investors: Baykar. In Defense systems: multi-domain platforms (Anduril, Helsing, UFORCE), cruise missiles and strike munitions (Destinus, Mach Industries, Castelion), counter-drone systems that are not drones (Epirus, DroneShield, Frankenburg), sensor networks and multi-domain integrators (Dominion Dynamics, Delian Alliance Industries) and command software (Comand AI). Naval drones (Saronic) and ground robots (ARX) are not in this segment. Chinese companies (DJI, EHang) are never ranked. A company appears in one segment only. Method
The segment at a glance
29companies ranked
11companies on the radar
10countries in the ranking
11listed benchmarks
Sources: Company announcements, Bloomberg, Fortune, The Next Web, TechCrunch, DroneXL, DroneLife, Sifted, Dealroom, Inc42, YourStory, Irish Times, Business Wire, company filings and market data for listed companies. Intention counters will be shown above a threshold of amount and number of Backers.
Rankings by region
Filter the ranking and the Radar. Ranks stay worldwide. Regional pages: Asia · Europe · North America · Sub-Saharan Africa.Listed benchmark · 7 Oct 20268.1xmedian market cap / revenue of the 10 listed pure players (from 2.3x to 34x)USD 1.2bnfunded backlog of the listed leader (AeroVironment, Apr 2026)USD 11.3bncombined market cap of the 10 listed pure players (7 Oct 2026)
Key metrics in this segment: order backlog, revenue growth, drones delivered per month and the share of revenue under multi-year government programmes. Listed companies appear in grey at their market value on the ranking date, for reference: they are never ranked and no intention is possible on them. Facts from company filings and market data; Uback gives no opinion on listed companies.
World · 29 ranked companies
| # | Company | Last round · Key metrics | Estimated valuation (AI) · range | Confidence | Back |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Shield AIUnited States · North America | Series G · USD 1.5bn · Mar 2026Revenue projected above USD 540M in 2026 (+80%) · Mar 2026 | Last known equity round: Series G · USD 1.5bn · Mar 2026 (Advent International, JPMorganChase; Blackstone); plus USD 500M of Blackstone preferred equity, not counted Published valuation: USD 12.7bn (reported) (Mar 2026) Confidence index: HighMethod |
Solid sources | Back |
| 2 | ZiplineUnited States · North America | Late-stage round · USD 600M · Jan 2026More than 2.5 million commercial deliveries; Walmart, Chipotle and Uber partnerships · Sep 2026 | Last known equity round: Late-stage round · USD 600M · Jan 2026 (Valor Equity Partners; Tiger Global, Fidelity, Baillie Gifford) Published valuation: USD 7.6bn (reported) (Jan 2026) Confidence index: HighMethod |
Solid sources | Back |
| 3 | Quantum SystemsGermany · Europe | Series D · USD 1.2bn · Jul 2026Revenue of about EUR 300M in 2025, doubled, profitable · 2025 | Last known equity round: Series D · USD 1.2bn · Jul 2026 (Blackstone, Airbus, Noteus, Advent; Bond, Fidelity, Balderton, HV Capital); EUR 1bn Published valuation: about USD 8bn (reported) (Jul 2026) Confidence index: HighMethod |
Solid sources | Back |
| — | AeroVironmentUnited States · Listed · Nasdaq · AVAV | Revenue USD 1,977M in FY2026 (to Apr 2026), +141% mostly from acquisitionsDrones and loitering munitions about 77% of revenue (Q4 FY2026) | USD 6.9bnMarket cap · Oct 2026 · 3.5x revenue | Listed company · not ranked | |
| 4 | TekeverPortugal · Europe | Series D (first close) · USD 580M · Sep 2026UK MoD programme worth up to GBP 400M; more than 1,500 staff · Sep 2026 | Last known equity round: Series D (first close) · USD 580M · Sep 2026 (UC Investments, Baillie Gifford; Crescent Cove, Iberis Capital) Published valuation: USD 6.4bn (reported) (Sep 2026) Confidence index: HighMethod |
Solid sources | Back |
| 5 | SkydioUnited States · North America | Series F · USD 110M · Apr 2026More than 60,000 drones shipped; 3,800 enterprise customers · Apr 2026 | Last known equity round: Series F · USD 110M · Apr 2026 (existing investors) Published valuation: USD 4.4bn (reported) (Apr 2026) Confidence index: HighMethod |
Solid sources | Back |
| 6 | Cambridge AerospaceUnited Kingdom · Europe | Series C · USD 300M · Aug 2026Several UK MoD contracts for low-cost interceptors · Aug 2026 | Last known equity round: Series C · USD 300M · Aug 2026 (DFJ Growth; Lux, Accel, Lakestar) Published valuation: USD 3.4bn (reported) (Aug 2026) Confidence index: HighMethod |
Solid sources | Back |
| 7 | STARKGermany · Europe | Series C · USD 550M · Jun 2026Bundeswehr loitering-munition framework contract worth up to EUR 2.9bn · Jun 2026 | Last known equity round: Series C · USD 550M · Jun 2026 (Sequoia; Founders Fund, NATO Innovation Fund, Project A, Air Street); EUR 500M Published valuation: EUR 3bn to EUR 3.5bn (reported) (Jun 2026) Confidence index: MediumMethod |
Partial sources | Back |
| 8 | NerosUnited States · North America | Series C · USD 250M · Aug 2026US Army contract with a USD 500M ceiling; about 1,200 drones a week · Aug 2026 | Last known equity round: Series C · USD 250M · Aug 2026 (Sequoia, American Strategic Technology Fund; Valor, Thiel Capital) Published valuation: USD 2.5bn (reported) (Aug 2026) Confidence index: HighMethod |
Solid sources | Back |
| — | AEVEXUnited States · Listed · NYSE · AVEX | Revenue about USD 432M in 2025; USD 700–720M guided for 2026Drones and uncrewed vessels 86% of revenue (Q2 2026) | USD 1.7bnMarket cap · Oct 2026 · 4.0x revenue | Listed company · not ranked | |
| 9 | Harmattan AIFrance · Europe | Series B · USD 200M · Jan 2026French Army and UK orders for thousands of drones · Jan 2026 | Last known equity round: Series B · USD 200M · Jan 2026 (Dassault Aviation) Published valuation: USD 1.4bn (reported) (Jan 2026) Confidence index: HighMethod |
Solid sources | Back |
| 10 | Heven AeroTechUnited States · North America | Series B · USD 100M · Dec 2025Hydrogen-powered drones supplied to the IDF and the US DoD · Dec 2025 | Last known equity round: Series B · USD 100M · Dec 2025 (IonQ) Published valuation: USD 1bn (reported) (Dec 2025) Confidence index: MediumMethod |
Partial sources | Back |
| — | Red Cat HoldingsUnited States · Listed · Nasdaq · RCAT | Revenue USD 40.7M in 2025 (+161%)Trailing 12 months USD 71.5M | USD 970MMarket cap · Oct 2026 · 23.8x revenue | Listed company · not ranked | |
| 11 | BRINCUnited States · North America | Growth round · USD 125M · Jul 2026More than 900 public-safety agencies; revenue more than tripled in 2025 · Jul 2026 | Last known equity round: Growth round · USD 125M · Jul 2026 (Motorola Solutions; Index Ventures) No confirmed published valuation Confidence index: MediumMethod |
Partial sources | Back |
| 12 | AuterionUnited States · North America | Series B · USD 130M · Sep 2025Profitable; revenue expected to double to about USD 200M on signed contracts · Feb 2026 | Last known equity round: Series B · USD 130M · Sep 2025 (Bessemer; Lakestar, In-Q-Tel); some sources call it a Series C led by Rheinmetall Ventures Published valuation: about USD 600M (reported) (Sep 2025) Confidence index: MediumMethod |
Partial sources | Back |
| 13 | Performance Drone WorksUnited States · North America | Series B · USD 110M · Mar 2026US Army small-drone programme (with Anduril); strike multirotor in production · Mar 2026 | Last known equity round: Series B · USD 110M · Mar 2026 (Ondas; Hanwha, Booz Allen) No confirmed published valuation Confidence index: MediumMethod |
Partial sources | Back |
| 14 | Raphe mPhibrIndia · Asia | Growth round · USD 100M · Jun 2025Revenue of INR 267.6 crore (about USD 31M), up 210% · FY2025 | Last known equity round: Growth round · USD 100M · Jun 2025 (General Catalyst; Think Investments) No confirmed published valuation Confidence index: MediumMethod |
Partial sources | Back |
| 15 | Aerodyne GroupMalaysia · Asia | Series B bridge · USD 30M · Sep 2022Revenue of USD 65M in 2023 · 2023 | Last known equity round: Series B bridge · USD 30M · Sep 2022 (PETRONAS Ventures; KWAP) No confirmed published valuation Confidence index: LowMethod |
Weak sources | Back |
| 16 | Firestorm LabsUnited States · North America | Series B · USD 82M · Apr 2026Headcount from 40 to more than 160 in 12 months · Apr 2026 | Last known equity round: Series B · USD 82M · Apr 2026 (Washington Harbour Partners; NEA, In-Q-Tel, Lockheed Martin Ventures) No confirmed published valuation Confidence index: LowMethod |
Weak sources | Back |
| — | ideaForgeIndia · Listed · NSE · IDEAFORGE | Revenue INR 226 crore in FY2026 (+40%)Order bookings INR 530 crore in FY2026, a record | INR 39.2bn (about USD 405M)Market cap · Oct 2026 · 17.3x revenue | Listed company · not ranked | |
| — | ParrotFrance · Listed · Euronext Paris · PARRO | Revenue EUR 79.8M in 2025H1 2026 revenue EUR 57.3M (+71%); micro-drones +134% | EUR 290M (about USD 324M)Market cap · Oct 2026 · 3.6x revenue | Listed company · not ranked | |
| 17 | Alta AresFrance · Europe | Series A · USD 58M · Jun 2026Scaling production of AI-guided interceptor drones · Jun 2026 | Last known equity round: Series A · USD 58M · Jun 2026 (Air Street Capital); EUR 50M No confirmed published valuation Confidence index: LowMethod |
Weak sources | Back |
| — | Volatus AerospaceCanada · Listed · TSX · FLT | Revenue CAD 34.2M in 2025 (+26%) | CAD 405M (about USD 284M)Market cap · Oct 2026 · 11.8x revenue | Listed company · not ranked | |
| 18 | Terra IndustriesNigeria · Sub-Saharan Africa | Seed (three tranches) · USD 52M · Aug 2026Revenue in the tens of millions of USD; more than USD 100M of bookings expected by end-2026 · Aug 2026 | Last known equity round: Seed (three tranches) · USD 52M · Aug 2026 (8VC, Lux, Silent Ventures; SV Angel) No confirmed published valuation Confidence index: MediumMethod |
Partial sources | Back |
| 19 | MannaIreland · Europe | Growth round · USD 50M · Mar 2026More than 250,000 drone flights; 60,000 deliveries from its Dublin 15 hub · Mar 2026 | Last known equity round: Growth round · USD 50M · Mar 2026 (ISIF, Ark Invest; Coca-Cola HBC) No confirmed published valuation Confidence index: MediumMethod |
Partial sources | Back |
| 20 | Garuda AerospaceIndia · Asia | Series B · USD 11.7M · Apr 2025Agricultural, industrial and defence drones; clients include Tata, HUL and Reliance · Apr 2025 | Last known equity round: Series B · USD 11.7M · Apr 2025 (Venture Catalysts); INR 100 crore Published valuation: USD 250M (reported) (Apr 2025) Confidence index: MediumMethod |
Partial sources | Back |
| 21 | PykaUnited States · North America | Series B · USD 40M · Sep 2024Largest FAA-approved uncrewed aircraft; three aircraft delivered to the US Air Force · Sep 2024 | Last known equity round: Series B · USD 40M · Sep 2024 (Obvious Ventures; Piva, Prelude, Y Combinator) No confirmed published valuation Confidence index: MediumMethod |
Partial sources | Back |
| — | AIRO GroupUnited States · Listed · Nasdaq · AIRO | Revenue USD 90.9M in 2025Drones about 87% of revenue | USD 210MMarket cap · Oct 2026 · 2.3x revenue | Listed company · not ranked | |
| — | ACSLJapan · Listed · Tokyo · 6232 | Revenue JPY 2.60bn in 2025H1 2026 revenue JPY 1,648M (+69%) | JPY 31.5bn (about USD 199M)Market cap · Sep 2026 · 12.1x revenue | Listed company · not ranked | |
| 22 | AirboundIndia · Asia | Series A · USD 37M · Aug 2026Andhra Pradesh network targeting 10,000 flights a day · Aug 2026 | Last known equity round: Series A · USD 37M · Aug 2026 (Greenoaks; DoorDash, Lightspeed) No confirmed published valuation Confidence index: HighMethod |
Solid sources | Back |
| — | DraganflyCanada · Listed · Nasdaq · DPRO | Revenue CAD 7.7M in 2025 (+18%) | USD 180MMarket cap · Oct 2026 · 34x revenue | Listed company · not ranked | |
| 23 | TYTAN TechnologiesGermany · Europe | Series A · USD 35M · Feb 2026Capacity of 3,000 interceptor drones a month; Bundeswehr contract · Feb 2026 | Last known equity round: Series A · USD 35M · Feb 2026 (Armira, NATO Innovation Fund; Visionaries Club, Lakestar); EUR 30M No confirmed published valuation Confidence index: HighMethod |
Solid sources | Back |
| 24 | Swarm AeroUnited States · North America | Series A · USD 35M · Mar 2026Opened an 80,000 sq ft manufacturing centre in Arkansas · Apr 2026 | Last known equity round: Series A · USD 35M · Mar 2026 (Two Sigma Ventures; Khosla, Founders Fund, Coatue) No confirmed published valuation Confidence index: HighMethod |
Solid sources | Back |
| 25 | WingtraSwitzerland · Europe | Series B · USD 22M · Apr 2021Survey drones used by CEMEX, Rio Tinto and the US Army Corps of Engineers · Aug 2024 | Last known equity round: Series B · USD 22M · Apr 2021; undisclosed Series B1 in Aug 2024 No confirmed published valuation Confidence index: LowMethod |
Weak sources | Back |
| 26 | Easy AerialUnited States · North America | Series B · USD 20M · Aug 2026New US and international defence contracts; production expanded to Europe · Aug 2026 | Last known equity round: Series B · USD 20M · Aug 2026 (Insight Partners; Entrée Capital) No confirmed published valuation Confidence index: HighMethod |
Solid sources | Back |
| 27 | Grid AeroUnited States · North America | Series A · USD 20M · Jan 2026Long-range cargo drone prototype built 18 months after founding · Jan 2026 | Last known equity round: Series A · USD 20M · Jan 2026 (Bison Ventures, Geodesic Capital) No confirmed published valuation Confidence index: HighMethod |
Solid sources | Back |
| 28 | FlyabilitySwitzerland · Europe | Series C · USD 15.7M · Sep 2022Collision-tolerant drones for confined-space inspection · 2022 | Last known equity round: Series C · USD 15.7M · Sep 2022; CHF 15M No confirmed published valuation Confidence index: LowMethod |
Weak sources | Back |
| — | AgEagle (EagleNXT)United States · Listed · NYSE American · UAVS | Revenue USD 12.8M in 2025 (−4%) | USD 57MMarket cap · Oct 2026 · 4.4x revenue | Listed company · not ranked | |
| 29 | Skye Air MobilityIndia · Asia | Series B · USD 9M · Mar 20263.6 million deliveries over two years for Blue Dart, Flipkart and Zepto · Mar 2026 | Last known equity round: Series B · USD 9M · Mar 2026 (IAN Alpha Fund; Bajaj Capital) No confirmed published valuation Confidence index: HighMethod |
Solid sources | Back |
Back · Declaring an intention does not mean this company is raising funds. · Terms
Corporate investor? Back the startups of your own segment
No ranked company in this region yet: see the Radar.
Ranking in descending order of AI-estimated valuation, based on public information, with no human intervention on the order. The valuations, ranges and brackets shown are editorial estimates produced by AI, purely indicative and imperfect by nature: neither a financial valuation, nor an offer, nor investment advice. Only the market sets a company’s value, through a funding round or a sale. Ranking established by Claude (Anthropic) from public information, following the published rules. A consensus of several AIs will apply from 1 December 2026. Eligibility: at least $1M raised in equity, non-listed company, main activity in this segment (drones). Country shown is the country of main operations. Request a correction
Get every new edition
New entries, exits and movements, twice a year.
One e-mail per edition. One-click unsubscribe. No data passed on to third parties. See our Privacy policy.
Coming soon: subscriptions will open shortly.
How to read this ranking
Rank
Companies are ranked by AI-estimated valuation, highest first. The market sets the value; our AI estimates it.
Estimate
An AI-estimated valuation, its uncertainty range and its order of magnitude. Indicative, and imperfect by nature.
- Hundreds of k$
- Millions $
- Tens of M$
- Hundreds of M$
- Unicorn
- Decacorn
- Hectocorn
Confidence
- High: recent, solid public information.
- Medium: older or partial information.
- Low: sparse or single-sourced information.
Challengers
A registered company raising funds that is not in the ranking will be able, for a fee, to appear in a separate list labelled “Challengers”, for a set period, with a memo available to verified Backers. The listing has no effect on the ranking. Not open yet.
Sponsored space · no Challenger listed yet
Radar · known eligible companies, not ranked
Sorted by date of last round, with no judgement and no AI call.
- Airbility · South Korea · AsiaSep 2026 · USD 4.7M; KRW 6.5bnBack
- Speedbird Aero · Brazil · Latin America & CaribbeanFeb 2026 · USD 5.8M; Series B of USD 30M openBack
- Thermopylae · United States · North AmericaNov 2025 · USD 1.6MBack
- Nordic Air Defence · Sweden · EuropeJul 2025 · USD 3MBack
- Wingcopter · Germany · EuropeJun 2025; amount undisclosed; Series B of USD 42M in 2021Back
- Skyeton · Ukraine · EuropeJun 2025 · USD 3.5MBack
- Alpine Eagle · Germany · EuropeMar 2025 · USD 11M; EUR 10.25M; Series A of USD 45M reported in progressBack
- Origin Robotics · Latvia · EuropeOct 2024 · USD 4.3M; EUR 4MBack
- Percepto · Israel · Middle East & North AfricaJun 2023 · USD 67M; equity and debt, split undisclosedBack
- Elroy Air · United States · North America2022 · USD 40M; USD 1bn SPAC merger agreed, not closedBack
- Flytrex · Israel · Middle East & North AfricaMar 2021 · USD 9.3MBack
No company on the radar in this region yet.
Listed benchmarks
Not ranked: no intention is possible on a listed company.
- AeroVironment · United StatesNasdaq · AVAV · USD 6.9bn (Oct 2026)
- AEVEX · United StatesNYSE · AVEX · USD 1.7bn (Oct 2026)
- Red Cat Holdings · United StatesNasdaq · RCAT · USD 970M (Oct 2026)
- ideaForge · IndiaNSE · IDEAFORGE · INR 39.2bn (about USD 405M) (Oct 2026)
- Parrot · FranceEuronext Paris · PARRO · EUR 290M (about USD 324M) (Oct 2026)
- Volatus Aerospace · CanadaTSX · FLT · CAD 405M (about USD 284M) (Oct 2026)
- AIRO Group · United StatesNasdaq · AIRO · USD 210M (Oct 2026)
- ACSL · JapanTokyo · 6232 · JPY 31.5bn (about USD 199M) (Sep 2026)
- Draganfly · CanadaNasdaq · DPRO · USD 180M (Oct 2026)
- AgEagle (EagleNXT) · United StatesNYSE American · UAVS · USD 57M (Oct 2026)
- Terra Drone · JapanTokyo · 278A
Sources and method for this segment
Calendar. Global segment rankings are published twice a year. Next edition: October 24, 2026.
Eligibility. At least $1M raised in equity, non-listed company, main activity in this segment (drones). A company appears in one segment only.
Sources. Company announcements, Bloomberg, Fortune, The Next Web, TechCrunch, DroneXL, DroneLife, Sifted, Dealroom, Inc42, YourStory, Irish Times, Business Wire, company filings and market data for listed companies.