Cambridge Aerospace, a defence startup, has raised £222 million Series C round at a £2.5 billion valuation. The round led by DFJ Growth with participation from Lux, Accel, Lakestar, Never Lift, Ora Global and Elad Gil. The funding will scale production of its low-cost drone interceptor systems.
Skyhammer, the first product, is a low-cost interceptor missile designed to counter one-way attack drones such as Iranian Shahed-style systems, and entered rapid deployment with the UK Armed Forces and Gulf partners in April. A second interceptor, Starhammer, is due to reach the market in 2027. Alongside the two interceptors sit a radar system, Looking Glass, and a solid rocket motor, Nightstar.
In July, Cambridge Aerospace was named one of three UK firms awarded contracts under the Low-Cost Air Defence Effectors programme, the UK's contribution to the five-nation Low-Cost Effectors and Autonomous Platforms framework launched by the UK, France, Germany, Italy and Poland in February, according to Aerotime.
Founded in 2024 by CEO Steven Barrett, a former MIT aerospace engineer now a professor at the University of Cambridge, chief commercial officer Chris Sylvan, previously a director at Anduril, and Junaid Hussain, founder of technology company Agon, the business has raised more than £471 million since inception. Two-thirds of its more than 250 employees work in technical and engineering roles, drawing on veterans of Allied armed forces, with operations in Germany, Poland, Norway, Ukraine and Australia in addition to the United Kingdom.
New funding will support Cambridge Aerospace as it grows its manufacturing capabilities and delivers on contracts as well as investing in its two interceptor products.
We decided that we had to produce solid rocket motors not just for ourselves but for our sovereign UK and European supply chain and also the chemicals as well,We’re growing rapidly. We’ve got 250 people now working mostly in the UK so far, but we also have a growing presence across other countries.
This valuation is a great vote of confidence in Britain. It is exactly what our unicorn scheme is designed to create - British startups scaling into billion-pound companies, creating skilled jobs, cementing the UK’s position at the forefront of defence innovation.
