The unmanned ship has arrived. This company has just completed a financing of 12 billion.

Saronic Technologies announced yesterday that it has completed a Series D financing round of $1.75 billion (approximately 12 billion RMB). With this round of financing, the company's current valuation has reached $9.25 billion.

The company, headquartered in Austin, Texas, claims that its ability to scale the production of advanced autonomous vessels is crucial for maintaining trade protection and the industrial strength required to ensure long - term maritime resilience.

The company said that it has adopted a "autonomy - first" design concept and combined it with modern manufacturing infrastructure to deliver new shipbuilding capabilities.

"Over the past few decades, the shipbuilding capacity and the manufacturing capacity of key maritime infrastructure in the United States have experienced a continuous decline,"

Dino Mavrookas, co - founder and CEO of Saronic, asserted. "We are addressing this challenge through a fundamentally new American shipbuilding model. This model integrates first - principles engineering, advanced manufacturing, and software - defined production, aiming to deliver autonomous vessels at an unprecedented speed, precision, and scale."

He added, "This new funding will accelerate Saronic's ability to turn this model into reality, spawn new categories of autonomous vessels and maritime capabilities, and expand the United States' shipbuilding capacity at a pace not seen since World War II."

Investment to Further Expand Shipyards

This Series D financing round was led by Kleiner Perkins, and new partners include Advent International, Bessemer Venture Partners, DFJ Growth, BAM Elevate, etc.

Existing investors such as 8VC, Caffeinated Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, Elad Gil, and Franklin Templeton also participated in the follow - on investment.

Saronic said that a core part of its work is to develop the Port Alpha next - generation shipyard while rapidly expanding its existing production facilities in Louisiana and Texas. The company plans to use the latest funds to accelerate the growth and maturity of its shipbuilding business.

"Maritime capabilities are not only about technology but also require the production capacity to deploy technology at scale,"

Ilya Fushman, a partner at Kleiner Perkins, said. "These two are rarely combined. What makes Saronic special is that it has both: on the one hand, autonomous vessels designed from the start to break the boundaries of possibility, and on the other hand, the manufacturing infrastructure capable of continuously producing these vessels. It is this combination that transforms technological breakthroughs into a lasting platform advantage."

Saronic said that it also plans to use this investment to continue to advance and expand its autonomous surface vessel (ASV) product portfolio and AI - driven maritime capabilities.

In response to the growing demand from U.S. and allied customers for platforms with greater range, endurance, and payload capacity, the company plans to expand its vessel family, from the 7.3 - meter - long Corsair to the 54.8 - meter - long Marauder and even larger models.

In addition, Saronic said that it will explore solutions to address a full range of challenges in the maritime field, including technological challenges in the cross - domain of surface and underwater.

Promoting the Development of Autonomous Shipbuilding

Saronic mentioned the strong momentum it has maintained since 2025.

Last year, the company completed a $600 million Series C financing round at a valuation of $4 billion and achieved significant growth in U.S. government business, including a $392 million production contract with the U.S. Navy.

After acquiring relevant facilities, the company completed its first Marauder hull in less than six months, just eight months after obtaining the facilities.

Saronic acquired its shipyard in Louisiana and promised to invest $300 million in an expansion of approximately 27,900 square meters, which is expected to create 1,500 jobs in the area.

In addition, the company expanded its Austin headquarters to 46,500 square meters, opened new centers in San Diego and Washington, D.C., and launched operations in the UK and Australia.

With the number of employees exceeding 1,300, Saronic said that its partnerships are driving business growth in the commercial and defense sectors and promoting rapid technological progress.

The company added, "Saronic is on track to revitalize the U.S. shipbuilding industry in the era of autonomy."

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This article is from the WeChat official account "Machine Preface". Author: Machine Preface. Republished by 36Kr with permission.