Kraken Technology Group makes waves as Europe’s newest maritime defence unicorn with €152.9 million Series B

Kraken Technology Group, a London-based maritime defence company, has raised €152.9 million ($175 million) in a Series B funding round at a valuation of nearly €874.1 million ($1 billion).

The round was led by Digital Transformation Capital Partners (DTCP) and supported by other British and European backers, including the British Business Bank, NATO Innovation Fund (NIF), Rheinmetall, Inocea Group, as well as VC firms HICO, Thesiger Capital Group, BOKA Capital, Supernova Invest and Hakluyt Capital.

Early investors in the company, such as NIF, the UK’s National Security Strategic Investment Fund (NSSIF), and SmartCap, alongside VCs Notion Capital and Speedinvest, have also now converted to equity following their participation in earlier funding rounds.

“Kraken is excited to be partnering with DTCP, leading such a prestigious group of European and international investors. This significant funding round will accelerate Kraken’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,” said Mal Crease, founder and CEO of Kraken Technology Group.

Founded in 2021 by Crease, Kraken offers high-performance dual-use composite littoral platforms for defence and commercial application in the maritime industry. Its platforms include K3 SCOUT, K5 Kraken, and K4 MANTA. K3 SCOUT is a low-signature and high-performance Uncrewed Surface Vessel designed to support maritime operations. According to the company, K3 SCOUT is modular in nature and is rapidly re-rolled to support a wide range of mission profiles including maritime awareness, force protection, logistics and precision strike.

K5 KRAKEN is a high‑endurance, high‑payload Uncrewed Surface Vessel designed to deliver sustained capability at range. Modular in nature, K5 Kraken is rapidly re‑roled to support complex mission profiles including strike, anti‑submarine warfare, forward screening and multi‑domain operations.

And K4 MANTA is capable of rapid uncrewed surface transit of sensor or effect payloads, before submerging for covert infiltration, persistent recce or loitering roles. Three variants, from the lowest-signature 18ft to the highly versatile 36ft and 54ft multi-purpose versions, capable of substantial modular payload carriage.

The company noted that the Series B funding round comes after a remarkably successful year for Kraken, during which it obtained multiple major contracts from the UK Ministry of Defence, NATO European partners, and USSOCOM. Its platforms are now actively used in various ongoing conflicts.

The company also has numerous major manufacturing partnerships to support global supply and a localised production presence, including Rheinmetall in Germany, Anduril Industries in the United States and Inocea’s Davie Shipbuilding in Canada. Kraken is set to announce similar partnerships in both the Middle East and the Indo-Pacific regions.

Ole Aguirre, Partner at DTCP, said, “The maritime domain is profoundly under-invested, and Kraken has taken a leading role in bringing affordable, mission-critical high-speed uncrewed vessels to the market in a very short time. Kraken genuinely understands the unique challenges around high-sea-state robotic operations and swiftly responded to NATO requirements, delivering immediate ‘mission-first’ maritime capabilities to secure our waters, our shores and our offshore installations. We have high confidence in Kraken and could not be more excited about the opportunities ahead of us.”

The company plans to use this capital to accelerate its rapid capability development and international manufacturing expansion. It will support Kraken’s continued development of its uncrewed surface vessels and payload capabilities, while rapidly expanding localised manufacturing facilities around the world.