Darkhive, a defense tech startup based in San Antonio, Texas, has secured $21 million in a Series A investment round led by Ten Eleven Ventures. The company focuses on developing open architecture Uncrewed Aircraft Systems (UAS) integrated with a secure software delivery system. Darkhive’s mission is to create an accessible situational awareness system for US-allied military and public safety personnel.
The company is developing lightweight, short- and mid-range reconnaissance drones supported by a proprietary software continuous delivery platform. Mark Hatfield, General Partner of Ten Eleven Ventures, stated, “Ten Eleven’s investment in Darkhive is part of our commitment to cybersecurity-focused companies supporting national security initiatives. We believe Darkhive’s platform offers the most compelling way to integrate vital secure code delivery and asset management for UAS fleets and, ultimately, other IoT devices used within US and US-allied military units.”
The Series A investment will help Darkhive develop its product portfolio, expand resources to support secured DoD contracts, and pursue new business opportunities.
The funding will also enable the company to distribute its ecosystem to more teams in the field, ensuring they obtain the equipment needed to properly support their crews. John Goodson, CEO of Darkhive, emphasized the importance of providing secure, adaptive, and cost-effective autonomous drones to enable unified, rapid response to global security threats.
Darkhive secures military drone investment
He stated, “The current UAS landscape is full of hurdles that leave users in the field at an extreme disadvantage. Chinese offerings are intuitive to use and affordable but have known cybersecurity vulnerabilities. While American-made products are secure, they’re expensive and difficult to use effectively.
We owe it to the men and women on the front line to provide a complete solution that is secure, affordable, reliable, and can be used by anyone in the field.”
Additional investors in this round included Crosslink Capital, RTX Ventures, and Stellar Ventures. Last year, the company closed a $4M Seed round led by Crosslink Capital and joined by Stellar Ventures, MVP Ventures, and Capital Factory. Darkhive has previously been awarded various contracts and grants, including an SBIR Phase III IDIQ with AFWERX Autonomy Prime, multiple SBIR Phase IIs, an STTR Phase II with the University of Alaska, an RDT&E contract with the OUSD RE, and an OTA contract with DIU NSIC.
The company is dedicated to advancing the US drone industry by designing cost-effective, compliant products with well-documented, fully open interfaces. These products provide tactical and emergency response teams with life-saving situational awareness capabilities.
