Well, the (counter) drone dollas keep on coming.
After securing an initial $25M investment from Lockheed Martin back in April, Fortem Technologies closed out a $50M Series B, the Utah-based startup exclusively told Tectonic. Drone component manufacturer Unusual Machines and other undisclosed “strategic and institutional investors” participated in the second tranche of the round.
- The Series B valued Fortem “under a billion dollars,” but it was “very significant,” the company’s Chief Business Officer Charlie O’Connell said.
Full stack: Founded in 2016, Fortem has made a name for itself by building the whole counter-drone kill chain—radar sensors, command-and-control software, and autonomous interceptor drones packaged in its “SkyDome” family of c-UAS tech. That in-house ecosystem is built around Fortem’s:
- TrueView: A radar system designed to detect, track, and classify small and low-flying drones in situations where traditional radars might not pick them up. It provides 360-degree coverage and can track hundreds of objects simultaneously, according to the company.
- DroneHunter: A fittingly named drone-hunting, fully autonomous, and radar-guided quadcopter interceptor drone. Instead of blowing the drone up, it’s designed to minimize collateral damage by firing a net that entangles the drone, allowing it to be carried or guided to the ground.
That solution has proven pretty popular. Fortem’s recent wins include:
- A prime spot on an over $1B-ceiling DHS c-UAS hardware and software contract in August, which they were the only small business selected for;
- A “multi-million-dollar” contract with Homeland Security to protect FIFA World Cup venues this summer; and
- A three-year, $18M US Army contract to defend Army installations.
Ramping up: With the war in Iran and drone incursions on the southern border, that demand is picking up quickly, and this fresh $50M is fuel for the fire.
“There was some debate on whether we would even cap the round after Lockheed made their investment at that valuation, then go back out and seek additional capital…[at] a higher multiple later on, but we really just needed the cash to grow instantly,” O’Connell said. “We are the only kinetic countermeasure authorized in the US for c-UAS, so we are seeing strong signals from the market on that, as well as a lot of international growth.”
- After Lockheed’s investment in April, “Almost instantaneously, we started hiring engineers and purchasing long-lead items, just anticipating future growth, which we’re already seeing coming down the pipeline,” he added, and the round ended up being “oversubscribed.”
O’Connell doesn’t see that demand dying down anytime soon.
“This is not Day One of drone warfare or counter-UAS, but it’s still week one, and there’s just a lot of growth left in this cycle and a lot of demand is going to continue,” he said. “We’re seeing applications for defense purposes across the globe, not just in active theaters, but in preparation.”
