Kraken Technology Group raises $175m at $1bn valuation to scale maritime uncrewed systems production

Maritime July 10, 2026

British-founded maritime defence company Kraken Technology Group has closed a $175m Series B funding round led by Digital Transformation Capital Partners, valuing the business at $1bn and setting up a rapid expansion of manufacturing capability across multiple regions.

The round, announced on 9 July from Kraken’s Fareham base, will fund continued development of the company’s uncrewed surface vessels and payload systems, alongside a fast-moving push to establish localised manufacturing facilities internationally. DTCP led the raise, with support from a broad mix of British and European backers including the British Business Bank, the NATO Innovation Fund, Rheinmetall, Inocea Group, and venture firms HICO, Thesiger Capital Group, BOKA Capital, Supernova Invest and Hakluyt Capital. Earlier investors, among them the NATO Innovation Fund, the UK’s National Security Strategic Investment Fund, SmartCap, Notion Capital and Speedinvest, have converted their positions to equity as part of the round.

The funding follows a strong run for Kraken, which has secured contracts with the UK Ministry of Defence, NATO European partners and USSOCOM over the past year, with its platforms now deployed in support of multiple ongoing conflicts. The company has also built a network of manufacturing partnerships to support localised production, including Rheinmetall in Germany, Anduril Industries in the United States and Inocea’s Davie Shipbuilding in Canada, with further partnerships expected in the Middle East and Indo-Pacific in the near future.

Mal Crease, Founder and CEO of Kraken Technology Group, said the investment would accelerate the company’s global roll-out, “enabling the deployment of hardened, reliable, mission-ready capabilities for NATO and its worldwide partners at an unprecedented scale in the maritime domain.” Ole Aguirre, Partner at DTCP, pointed to the wider gap the company is filling, describing the maritime domain as “profoundly under-invested” and praising Kraken for bringing “affordable, mission-critical high-speed uncrewed vessels to the market in a very short time.” PJT Partners acted as exclusive financial advisor and Clifford Chance as legal counsel on the transaction.

For the UK defence supply chain, Kraken’s expansion signals sustained demand building around uncrewed maritime systems, from vessel design and payload integration through to the localised manufacturing partnerships now being replicated across allied nations. With platforms already contracted by the UK MOD, NATO partners and USSOCOM, and manufacturing footprints spreading from Germany to the US and Canada, suppliers with relevant capability have a growing number of entry points into this supply chain as Kraken and its manufacturing partners scale production.

Businesses with relevant capabilities should monitor the following areas as Kraken’s international expansion progresses:

Uncrewed surface vessel design, hulls and propulsion
Maritime payload systems and mission equipment integration
High-sea-state robotics and autonomous control systems
Localised manufacturing and assembly partnerships
Offshore infrastructure and coastal security applications
Supply chain and component sourcing for rapid production scale-up

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