Mobile drone manufacturing startup Firestorm Labs raises $47M – News

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.

In other words, xCell is a kind of mobile drone manufacturing hub that can be used by the military to quickly replenish its losses, repair and adapt drones even in the toughest, heavily contested environments, the company said. Using xCell, Firestorm says customers can manufacture drones plus their payloads and replacement parts in any location where it’s set up. The company says one xCell unit has a production capacity of 50 drones per month.

The main advantage of xCell it avoids the need to send damaged hardware back to centralized facilities, and enables military units to quickly create specialized drones to order. Using the platform, operators can manufacture a complete Tempest UAS drone on-site in just a few days and then reconfigure it for different tasks, including strike missions, electronic warfare or reconnaissance. For instance, engineers can quickly swap out a drone’s propulsion system and payload, based on the specifics of its mission.

Lockheed Martin Ventures Vice President and General Manager Chris Moran said the ability to deploy a 3D drone printing factory in any location in the world is a powerful tool. “It further extends the warfighter’s ability to secure the battlespace while advancing U.S. leadership on the frontiers of defense technologies,” he said.

The startup is also involved in designing drones, and its focus there is primarily on speeding up production and increasing sustainability, it said. It’s working with the DOD to unite onboard computers, developer tools, tactical software and mission planning functionality into a single ecosystem.

Firestorm Chief Executive Dan Magy said the funding will help the company to achieve its mission of delivering critical, battlefield-ready drones fast and at scale. “Our unique ability to 3D print modular airframes on-site dramatically reduces production timelines, costs, and logistical constraints, giving the U.S. and allied forces the adaptive technology they urgently need in complex and contested operational environments,” he promised.

Booz Allen Ventures Managing Partner Brian MacCarthy said investments of this kind can help the DOD to sustain a competitive advantage over its rivals.

“Firestorm is delivering breakthrough technology designed for speed, scale and survivability in the world’s most challenging environments,” he said. “Its ability to move fast and solve hard operational problems is exactly what the U.S. and its allies need to stay ahead in the battlespace.”

Images: Firestorm Labs