Darkhive, a company specializing in low-cost autonomous drones for defense and public safety applications, has successfully closed a $4 million seed funding round. The round was led by Crosslink Capital and saw participation from MVP Ventures, Capital Factory, and existing investor Stellar Ventures.
The funding will be instrumental in accelerating Darkhive’s production of hardware and software product lines, particularly in support of significant Department of Defense initiatives.
Over the past year, Darkhive has been awarded contracts totaling nearly $14 million, and the recent seed funding will play a crucial role in scaling its development efforts.
Darkhive focuses on the creation of affordable, US-manufactured unmanned systems with open hardware and software interfaces. This approach aims to provide cost-effective and scalable solutions for situational awareness in defense and public safety scenarios. The company’s emphasis on an open architecture allows for interoperability and adaptability, addressing critical needs in the deployment of unmanned systems.
Darkhive has secured various contracts and awards, including a Phase III Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) IDIQ with AFWERX Autonomy Prime, multiple Phase II SBIR/STTR awards with AFWERX and the Air Force Research Lab, as well as Other Transaction Authority (OTA) contracts with the Office of the Undersecretary of Defense Research and Engineering Innovation and Modernization and the Defense Innovation Unit National Security Innovation Capital.
