Neros triples valuation to $2.5 billion as Bandit moves toward combat

The $250 million round lands alongside the Pentagon's first Drone Dominance bonus order, tying Neros's valuation to drones actually delivered.

Neros Inc. raised $250 million in a round that tripled its valuation to $2.5 billion, Bloomberg reported. Sequoia Capital and American Strategic Technology Fund co-led the investment, with Thiel Capital participating. The three-year-old company will expand its workforce from 200 to 350 and help establish manufacturing in allied countries.

The Defense Innovation Unit named Neros the first competitor in the $1.1 billion Drone Dominance Program to receive a bonus order on Aug. 10, covering 2,000 additional drones, Inside Defense reported. Bonus awards depend on delivery performance. Neros placed second at Gauntlet I with 87.5 points, but had delivered all 2,400 drones ordered as of July 30, the program leaderboard showed. First-place Skycutter was still listed as ramping production.

Bonus funding covers 6,600 of the 30,000 drones planned for Phase I, the Defense Department's December 2025 solicitation states.