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Firestorm Labs Inc. said today it has validated its mobile “factory-in-a-box” technique for manufacturing autonomous drones after closing on a $47 million Series A round of funding. The company aims to apply additive manufacturing processes, including three-dimensional printing to enable mobile drone production in any location. It said the funds will be used to construct a new production facility and expand its engineering team. Today’s round was led by New Enterprise Associates and saw the participation of Booz Allen Hamilton Holding Corp.’s and Lockheed Martin Corp.’s venture capital arms. Washington Harbour Partners and Decisive Point also provided direct funding, while JPMorgan Chase is contributing $12 million to the round in venture debt. The Series A investment follows a $12.5 million seed funding round that also saw the involvement of Lockheed Martin in early 2024. Based in San Diego, Firestorm has already clinched a number of contracts with the U.S. Department of Defense, including one worth $100 million that will see it work with the Air Force on research into the development of additively manufactured drones. Firestorm’s mobile drone manufacturing platform is called xCell, which is described as an “expeditionary manufacturing cell” that’s powered by off-the-grid generators. The entire factory is housed inside an innocuous shipping container that can easily be disguised. Much of the manufacturing work it performs is automated, requiring only minimal human labor and expertise.
Full report : Mobile drone manufacturing startup Firestorm Labs raises $47 million in Series A funding.
For more see the OODA Company Profile on Firestorm Labs.