Dear D3 Investors,
It’s Unicorn Month Again!
Neros announced a $250M Series C at a $2.5B post-money valuation, led by Sequoia Capital. The round will accelerate Neros’ production ramp and expansion into autonomous strike and counter-UAS interceptor systems.
We’ll be hosting Neros Founder-CEO Soren and his lead investor, Shaun Maguire, in Kyiv and Lviv for a week in September. Shaun is also a member of the Pentagon’s Science, Technology, and Innovation Board.
At the same time, the major Tier 1 VC firms are increasingly picking category champions across defense tech, investing hundreds of millions of dollars at multi-billion-dollar valuations. For D3, this is particularly meaningful: we were fortunate to identify and back several of these emerging category leaders at the pre-seed and earliest stages.
Cambridge Aerospace is another example. The company closed a $300M Series C at a $3.4B valuation, led by DFJ Growth, after raising $200M at a $1.3B valuation just four months earlier.
Total = 1178 (+46)
ASYMM LABS
Registered: US
Round Size: $51M @ $200M
D3 Investment: $1M
Round Lead: Khosla Ventures
Asymm is developing a new type of passive radar that detects drones, aircraft, and missiles by capturing reflections of signals already transmitted by commercial satellites, including Starlink. Because the system only listens and does not emit, it is difficult for an adversary to detect or target. Asymm’s ambition is to build a low-cost, distributed early-warning network that can protect military units, critical infrastructure, and civilian communities.
The company has assembled an exceptional team for this challenge. Founder/CEO Omar Kunbargi spent ten years at SpaceX, progressing from Crew Dragon engineering to leading billions of dollars in international launch and satellite sales. CTO Dr. Mark Dickinson brings more than 25 years of satellite communications experience from Inmarsat, Viasat, and Neo Space Group.
The technology is still at an early stage, but its potential relevance to Ukraine is significant. Ukraine urgently needs affordable, distributed detection of Shaheds and other low-flying drones, especially around the frontline and critical infrastructure. Asymm plans to deploy its first prototype in Ukraine to collect real battlefield data and support existing counter-drone operations.
Asymm Labs Investment Case and Capability Overview(click on pdf files below):