Saronic closes Series D with plans to accelerate shipbuilding
Saronic has closed its Series D funding round, led by Kleiner Perkins, with a valuation of $9.23 billion. The new capital is earmarked for increasing its autonomous vessel offering and accelerating the company’s shipbuilding efforts.
By Sam Cranny-Evans, editor of Calibre Defence, published on April 1, 2026.
Saronic has closed a $1.75 billion funding round led by Kleiner Perkins according to a March 31 post on Medium. The Series D funding includes participation from nine other investment firms, the article explains, some of them are repeat investors. The round increases the company’s valuation to $9.23 billion, up from the $4 billion of its Series C.
The funding round welcomes five new investors including Kleiner Perkins, as well as five existing investors. The Series C funding round secured $600 million in capital and led to that $4 billion valuation mentioned above. At the time – February 2024 – that valuation represented a quadrupling of the company’s previous market value. It was also stated that the Series C would support the establishment of Port Alpha, which is Saronic’s pitch to build autonomous vessels in the US.
The company has two other shipbuilding facilities, and the new funding round is expected to accelerate “the growth and maturation” of this enterprise. It is also expected to support the further development of the company’s product portfolio.
“The company will also use the capital to explore solutions that address the full spectrum of challenges in the maritime domain, including those at the intersection of surface and subsurface,” the post adds. In a nutshell, the funding will bring the capital that the company needs to see some of its current projects through to completion.
Saronic investor profile
Credit: Saronic.
The Series D funding has drawn an increasingly familiar crowd of defence investment funds. Between them, they have funded a range of companies from existing primes like Cobham, through to the new disruptors like Saronic. Half of the funders were already Saronic investors, suggesting that they see the company’s growth and success as likely.
| Investor | Type | Other Defence Portfolio Companies |
| Kleiner Perkins | New (Lead) | Skydio, Rain, Zipline |
| Advent International | New | Shield AI, Cobham, Ultra Electronics, Vantor |
| Bessemer Venture Partners | New | Rocket Lab, Anduril, Auterion, Spire Global, DEFCON AI |
| DFJ Growth | New | SpaceX, Planet, Anduril |
| BAM Elevate | New | SpaceX, Skydio |
| 8VC | Previous | Anduril, Epirus, Palantir, Shield AI, Litevision |
| Caffeinated Capital | Previous | Anduril, Shield AI, Varda Space Industries |
| Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) | Previous | Anduril, Hadrian, Apex, Skydio, Shield AI |
| Elad Gil | Previous | Anduril, Applied Intuition, Astranis |
| Franklin Templeton | Previous | Lockheed Martin (via public funds), SpaceX |
Calibre comment: The need for big USVs
Saronic’s post mentioned that it will be responding to growing demand for USVs with greater range, payload, and endurance. To a certain extent, this will require increasingly large USVs, which moves away from the entry point for most companies in this space. Others, like the UK’s Kraken Technologies are focused on smaller craft, designed to be carried by larger ships. But there are at least three projects that point to the need for larger vessels:
- The 180 foot Marauder from Saronic
- The 190 foot Romulus from HII
- and the 180 foot Liberty Class vessel from Blue Water Autonomy.
This points to vessels that will be better able to perform on the open ocean, transporting sensors and other payloads that would be useful to in a variety of missions. It also indicates that navies will have to find ways to operate alongside these USVs, rather than deploying them. There are, in short, a lot of challenges lying between where these companies are, and having large USVs operational. Maybe the funding that Saronic has secured will help address some of those challenges, but others sit with the customer.
- Liberty Class Vessel Set for Production in March – Calibre Defence
- HII’s ROMULUS USV progresses – Calibre Defence
- Saronic acquires Gulf Craft to accelerate autonomous shipbuilding – Calibre Defence
The lead image shows a Marauder USV hull in build. Credit: Saronic.
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