STARK

• Cascade OWE-T

  Cascade

• Gambit

  Gambit

• STARK Minerva

  Minerva

• Vanta USV Family

  Vanta

• Virtus

  Virtus

Supply chain relationships

• Six Robotics

  Inbound - Software - Six Robotics supplies collaborative swarm-autonomy software for STARK recce-strike unmanned systems

  Source

• 2026-06-23 - Growth funding - $569.6M - STARK raises EUR 500M at about EUR 3.5B valuation

  valuation: EUR 3.5B (~$3.99B) - STARK raised EUR 500 million in new funding at about a EUR 3.5 billion valuation, with backing from Founders Fund, Sequoia Capital, NATO Innovation Fund, Project A and other investors. - source: sifted.eu

• 2025-08-22 - Growth funding - $62M - STARK closes 2025 growth round led by Sequoia Capital

  STARK closed a 2025 growth round led by Sequoia Capital, with the financing tied to software-defined defence drones and unmanned-weapons development. - source: tectonicdefense.com

• NATO Innovation Fund - Participant - VC - 2 funding events - repeat backer - first seen 2025-08-22 - latest 2026-06-23
• Project A - Participant - Unknown - 2 funding events - repeat backer - first seen 2025-08-22 - latest 2026-06-23
• Sequoia Capital - Lead - VC - 2 funding events - repeat backer - first seen 2025-08-22 - latest 2026-06-23
• 201 Ventures - Participant - VC - 1 funding event - first seen 2026-06-23
• Advent - Participant - Unknown - 1 funding event - first seen 2026-06-23
• Air Street Capital - Participant - VC - 1 funding event - first seen 2026-06-23
• Döpfner Capital - Participant - VC - 1 funding event - first seen 2026-06-23
• Founders Fund - Lead - VC - 1 funding event - first seen 2026-06-23

• Uwe Horstmann - Founder and CEO - Leads the company through scale-up, defence procurement engagement and industrial-base financing.
• Jan-Patrick Helmsen - Chief Sales Officer - Owns global sales, market development and new business fields for defence customers.
• Martin Rost - Chief Operating Officer - Leads operational-process and production scaling across STARK sites in Germany, the United Kingdom and Ukraine.
• Johannes Arlt - Managing Director Nordics - Represents STARK in Nordic defence-industrial partnerships, including the Six Robotics recce-strike integration.

Events

• 2026-08-26 - Demonstration - STARK and TDW demonstrate Gambit integrated-warhead effect

  The TDW multi-effect warhead, fuze and safety-and-arming system were integrated into Gambit. Live testing took place at TDW in Germany. STARK described the test as a milestone toward delivery, not evidence of an already fielded Gambit fleet.

  Source
• 2026-06-23 - Funding - STARK raises EUR 500M at about EUR 3.5B valuation

  The June 2026 round added EUR 500 million at about a EUR 3.5 billion valuation. More than 80% of the capital is allocated to R&D and manufacturing, including electronic-warfare research facilities and higher-rate production.

  Source
• 2026-04-29 - Demonstration - STARK demonstrates Virtus and Minerva drone-swarm integration in Bundeswehr exercise

  The exercise tested integration of reconnaissance drones, software and loitering munitions into a recce-strike operation. STARK said the objective is to provide the Bundeswehr with a scalable operational capability by 2027. The trials focused on reducing the time between target detection and engagement.

  Source
• 2026-04-23 - Partnership - STARK and INLEAP Photonics partner on laser-based C-UAS

  The partnership is focused on bringing INLEAP FASTLIGHT SHIELD into relevant defence applications. The companies may also jointly develop additional C-UAS solutions. STARK framed the work as part of an integrated approach to combining multiple defence technologies.

  Source
• 2026-03-12 - Partnership - STARK and Six Robotics partner on recce-strike capability

  The integration links reconnaissance drones, loitering munitions and autonomy software for shorter sensor-to-shooter loops. STARK said the first phase had already been demonstrated through successful trials. The partnership followed STARK’s establishment of a Nordic presence in Sweden.

  Source
• 2026-02-26 - Contract Award - STARK to deliver Virtus loitering munition system to the Bundeswehr

  The agreement was approved on 25 February 2026 and announced by STARK on 26 February 2026. STARK said the framework contract covers delivery within two years after successful qualification. The event follows joint Bundeswehr testing of the Virtus system.

  Source
• 2026-02-13 - Facility Opening - STARK expands presence in Ukraine and Greece

  The expansion added local presence in two defence-relevant European operating environments. STARK tied the move to accelerated development and deployment of unmanned systems. The company later described production facilities across Germany, the United Kingdom and Ukraine.

  Source
• 2026-02-04 - Contract Award - STARK wins first major international contract with a NATO member

  The package included 150 loitering munitions and 15 ISR drones. The agreement also covered repair and service packages, along with recurring software updates. The contract followed STARK’s expansion of drone and mission-software operations in Europe.

  Source
• 2026-01-28 - Facility Opening - STARK expands to the Nordics with Stockholm presence

  The move was tied to STARK’s partnership work with Norway-based Six Robotics. STARK said the Nordic presence would support military and industrial cooperation in the region. The expansion added to STARK’s European footprint beyond Germany, the United Kingdom, Ukraine and Greece.

  Source
• 2025-10-01 - Partnership - STARK and TDW partner on warhead integration for Virtus

  The cooperation focused on integrating TDW’s LION STRIKE 110 warhead into Virtus. STARK framed the work as a step toward European industrial control over critical unmanned-weapons subsystems. TDW is a European warhead specialist within the MBDA group.

  Source
• 2025-09-30 - Product Launch - STARK launches Vanta autonomous maritime vessels after NATO trials

  The Vanta-4 and Vanta-6 are unmanned surface vessels designed for affordable mass production and ranges up to 900 nautical miles. During the Portugal trials, Vanta systems completed missions including harbour control, over-the-horizon investigation and nighttime ISR patrols. STARK said Vanta is integrated with Minerva command-and-control software for multi-domain operations.

  Source
• 2025-08-22 - Funding - STARK closes 2025 growth round led by Sequoia Capital

  The round took total disclosed funding to roughly $100 million before the 2026 EUR 500 million raise. The capital supported STARK’s push into software-defined defence drones and unmanned weapons systems.

  Source
• 2025-02-10 - Product Launch - STARK unveils OWL miniature AI payload

  OWL was presented as a smart miniature payload for unmanned systems. The product sits alongside STARK’s wider software-defined defence autonomy stack. The launch broadened STARK’s profile beyond airframes into payload and sensing components.

  Source

Relationships

• INLEAP Photonics

  Laser Based C UAS - STARK and INLEAP Photonics are combining system expertise and laser technology for counter-UAS applications.

• Six Robotics

  Recce Strike Integration - STARK and Six Robotics are integrating unmanned systems and autonomy software for joint recce-strike mission deployment.

• German Armed Forces / Bundeswehr

  Virtus Loitering Munition Systems - STARK signed a Bundeswehr framework for several thousand Virtus systems, with delivery subject to successful qualification.

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• Baykar

  stack adjacency - Defence UAV Builder

Shared workflows

• Maritime Robotics

  workflow adjacency - Maritime Autonomy

• Rekise Marine

  workflow adjacency - Maritime Autonomy

• Fleetzero

  workflow adjacency - Maritime Autonomy

• SEAHI Robotics

  workflow adjacency - Maritime Autonomy

• EvoLogics

  workflow adjacency - Maritime Autonomy

• BUVI Scandinavia

  workflow adjacency - Maritime Autonomy

• Splash

  workflow adjacency - Maritime Autonomy

• Aquatonomy

  workflow adjacency - Maritime Autonomy

• MarineAI

  workflow adjacency - Maritime Autonomy

• Hefring Marine

  workflow adjacency - Maritime Autonomy

• Mythos AI

  workflow adjacency - Maritime Autonomy

• Bearing AI

  workflow adjacency - Maritime Autonomy

Context tags

• Defence UAV builder - Stack Layer - Virtus is STARK’s flagship VTOL loitering munition system.
• Loitering munitions - Peer Group - Virtus is a software-defined one-way effector / loitering munition.
• Recce-strike systems - Workflow - STARK integrates Virtus, Minerva and ISR drones for recce-strike operations.
• Maritime autonomy - Workflow - STARK’s Vanta family covers unmanned surface vessels for maritime defence missions.
• Unmanned surface vessels - Peer Group - STARK’s Vanta systems are autonomous maritime vessels.
• Defense C2 software - Stack Layer - Minerva is STARK’s command-and-control software for multidomain operations.
• Contested defence environments - Customer Environment - Stark products are built for EW-contested and battlefield conditions.
• Defence robotics builder - Stack Layer - STARK builds unmanned weapons systems for European and NATO defence users.

• STARK to deliver Virtus loitering munition system to the Bundeswehr

  2026-02-26 · Order / contract · The German Bundestag budget committee approved a framework contract for STARK to deliver several thousand Virtus loitering munition systems to the Bundeswehr.

  Source
• STARK wins first major international contract with a NATO member

  2026-02-04 · Order / contract · STARK won its first major international contract with a NATO member state for a full software-defined unmanned system package.

  Source