A defense startup has raised $82 million to bring drone manufacturing to the front lines—by packing entire factories into standard shipping containers.
Firestorm Labs, based in San Diego, announced the Series B round on Wednesday, led by Washington Harbour Partners with backing from NEA, Ondas, In-Q-Tel, Lockheed Martin, Booz Allen Ventures, Geodesic, Motley Fool Ventures, and others. The round brings the company's total funding to $153 million.
The company originally set out as a drone manufacturer. But as customers repeatedly asked for production to be moved closer to combat zones, Firestorm pivoted to meet that demand.
“In a Pacific conflict, the nearest U.S. drone factory could be thousands of miles away, with supply ships and aircraft vulnerable to attack along the way,” said CEO Dan Magy, a serial defense tech entrepreneur. Co-founders include Chad McCoy, a special operations veteran, and CTO Ian Muceus, who holds over a dozen 3D printing patents.
The solution is xCell, a containerized manufacturing platform that can 3D-print complete drone systems in under 24 hours. The drones are mission-agnostic and can be quickly reconfigured for different tasks, from surveillance to strike.
By shrinking the factory to fit inside a shipping container, Firestorm aims to give commanders the ability to produce drones on demand, right where they are needed most.