Autonomous vessel innovator Saronic Series D round raises $1.75BN

Two Marauder hulls at Saronic's Franklin, Louisiana shipyard, where the company is scaling its MUSV fleet . [Photo: Saronic]

Austin, Texas-headquartered autonomous vessel pioneer Saronic Technologies today announced that it has closed a $1.75 billion Series D funding round. Led by venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins, the round values the company at $9.25 billion.

The round saw Advent International, Bessemer Venture Partners, DFJ Growth, BAM Elevate, and other new partners join Saronic’s existing investors, including 8VC, Caffeinated Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, Elad Gil, and Franklin Templeton.

This news builds on Saronic’s momentum from 2025, during which time it acquired Gulf Craft’s Franklin, La., shipyard, and committed $300M to its 300,000 sq. ft. expansion,tyghtr5raised a $600M Series C at a $4B valuation, generated significant growth with the U.S. government including a $392M production contract with the U.S. Navy, and unveiled its inaugural 180-ft autonomous ship, Marauder, with the first hull completed in less than six months, and less than eight months after acquiring the facility to build it.

Additionally, Saronic expanded its Austin headquarters to more than 500,000 sq. ft., opened new hubs in San Diego and Washington, D.C., and launched operations in the U.K. and Australia.

Saronic says that, at a pivotal moment for global security and economic competition, it is delivering net new shipbuilding capacity made possible by its autonomy-first design approach coupled with modern manufacturing infrastructure. The ability to produce advanced, highly capable autonomous ships at scale is critical to preserving the industrial strength required to project power, protect trade, and sustain long-term resilience at sea.

“Over the past decades, the U.S. has experienced a steady erosion of its ability to build ships and manufacture critical maritime infrastructure,” said Dino Mavrookas, co-founder and CEO of Saronic. “We are confronting this challenge with a fundamentally new model of American shipbuilding, one that integrates first-principles engineering, advanced manufacturing, and software-defined production to deliver autonomous vessels with unprecedented speed, precision, and scale. The new capital will accelerate Saronic’s ability to bring that model to life, generate entirely new classes of autonomous ships and maritime capabilities, and scale U.S. shipbuilding capacity on a timeline not seen since World War II.”

Building Strength Through Industrial Capacity

An important component to Saronic’s efforts is the development of Port Alpha — its next generation shipyard — alongside the rapid expansion of its existing production facilities in Louisiana and Texas. This capital will allow Saronic to accelerate the growth and maturation of its shipbuilding enterprise, one that is defined by innovation, scalability, and strategic impact.

“Maritime dominance isn’t just about technology — it requires the production capacity to field it at scale,” said Ilya Fushman, Kleiner Perkins partner. “Those two things rarely come together. What makes Saronic special is that they’re building both: autonomous ships designed from day one to push the boundaries of what’s possible, and the manufacturing infrastructure to produce them consistently. That’s what turns a technical breakthrough into an enduring platform advantage. It is an honor to support a company at the forefront of autonomous systems and advanced manufacturing, driven by mission and purpose.”

This new capital will also support the continued advancement, expansion, and scaled production of Saronic’s portfolio of autonomous surface vessels and AI-driven maritime capabilities. In response to growing demand from U.S. and allied customers for platforms with greater range, endurance, and payload capacity, Saronic will rapidly scale its family of vessels—from the 24-foot Corsair to the 180-foot Marauder and beyond.

The company says that it will also use the capital to explore solutions that address the full spectrum of challenges in the maritime domain, including those at the intersection of surface and subsurface.