QUANTUM SYSTEMS RAISES £1.2BN IN DEFENCE TECH FUNDING ROUND

Quantum Systems, a German autonomous defence systems startup, raised $1.2 billion in a Series D funding round announced on Thursday, according to the company. The round valued the drone startup at approximately $8 billion on a post-money basis. The funding was co-led by Blackstone, Noteus, Airbus and Advent, with additional participation from Bond, Fidelity Management and Research Company, Balderton and HV Capital. Florian Seibel, co-CEO and co-founder, stated the company is profitable and that the capital will expand production capacity, strengthen supply chain resilience, scale delivery across allied markets, and fund software and artificial intelligence development.

Defence technology companies have raised $17.4 billion so far this year, according to Dealroom data, exceeding the $11.2 billion raised in 2025. Quantum Systems develops unmanned systems for land, air and sea operations. Other notable defence tech funding rounds in 2025 included Anduril's $5 billion raise in May, Saronic Technologies' $1.8 billion raise in March, and Shield AI's $2 billion raise in March. European competitor Helsing was reported by the Financial Times in May to be raising $1.2 billion at an $18 billion valuation.

Seibel stated that defence will be characterised by autonomous systems operating together across domains in real time. The funding activity reflects investor appetite for military technology companies as defence spending priorities shift toward emerging autonomous capabilities. Quantum Systems said the new capital will support its continued expansion in the sector.