Hamburg / Fareham, 9 July 2026 - DTCP today announced it has led the $175 million Series B financing round in Kraken Technology Group, a British-founded maritime defence company developing uncrewed surface vessels and payload capabilities. The round values Kraken at $1 billion, underscoring its position as one of Europe’s emerging defence technology leaders and the growing strategic importance of scalable uncrewed maritime systems.
DTCP has invested through its DTCP Defence fund, joined by other British and European backers, including the British Business Bank, NATO Innovation Fund (NIF), Rheinmetall, Inocea Group as well as Venture Capital (VC) firms HICO, Thesiger Capital Group, BOKA Capital, Supernova Invest and Hakluyt Capital. Early investors in the company such as NIF, the UK’s National Security Strategic Investment Fund (NSSIF), and SmartCap, alongside VCs Notion Capital and Speedinvest, have also now converted to equity following their participation in earlier funding rounds.
Founded in 2020 and headquartered in Fareham, UK, Kraken Technology Group designs and builds advanced autonomous maritime platforms for defence missions, focused on littoral, surface, and subsurface operations for NATO and allied partners. Drawing on offshore racing heritage, the company combines speed, endurance, and resilient engineering to deliver systems built for demanding sea conditions.
Kraken’s technology is designed to address the growing demand for rapidly deployable maritime systems that can operate across contested and complex environments. Its platforms are already deployed in support of multiple ongoing conflicts and have secured contracts from the UK Ministry of Defence, NATO European partners, and USSOCOM (United States Special Operations Command).
The company has also established major manufacturing partnerships to support global supply and localised production, including with Rheinmetall in Germany, Anduril Industries in the United States, and Davie Shipyards in Canada. Kraken is also expected to announce further partnerships in the Middle East and Indo-Pacific regions.
For DTCP, the investment reflects the growing strategic importance of uncrewed maritime systems within modern defence. As NATO and allied forces seek to strengthen maritime resilience, distributed operations, and scalable deterrence capabilities, DTCP believes Kraken is well positioned to become a leading platform provider in the global maritime defence ecosystem.
Ole Aguirre, Partner at DTCP, said: “The maritime domain is profoundly under-invested, and Kraken has taken a leading role in bringing affordable, mission-critical high-speed unmanned vessels to the market in a very short time. The Kraken team answered the call and responded to NATO countries’ need for immediate maritime capabilities to secure our waters, our shores and our offshore installations. Their “mission-first” approach combined with a deep understanding of the unique challenges with high sea state robotic operations gives our Navies an unfair advantage while securing our territorial waters. We have high confidence in Mal and his team and could not be more excited about the opportunities ahead of us.”
Mal Crease, Founder and CEO of Kraken Technology Group, said: “This significant funding round will accelerate Kraken's global roll-out, enabling the deployment of hardened, reliable, mission-ready capabilities for NATO and its worldwide partners at an unprecedented scale in the maritime domain.”
The financing will support Kraken’s continued development of uncrewed surface vessels and payload capabilities, while accelerating the expansion of localised manufacturing facilities around the world.
About Kraken Technology Group
With a unique offshore racing history and DNA, Kraken Technology Group was founded in 2020 to meet the growing requirement for modular, scalable and affordable maritime defence capabilities. A British company, Kraken has expanded cross-continent and is now producing and exporting its proven platforms to NATO countries globally. Kraken’s current range includes K3 SCOUT, K5 KRAKEN, and K7 SABRE unmanned surface vessels; as well as the K4 MANTA unmanned surface subsurface platform. Kraken’s facilities are each able to produce up to 1,000 units per year in support of allied maritime requirements.
About DTCP
DTCP is a global investment management firm with EUR 4.5 billion in assets under management (as of June 2026). As a sector specialist, DTCP invests in the mid-market across digital infrastructure, enterprise software, and mission-critical technologies. The firm has more than 60 professionals across offices in Hamburg, Frankfurt, Berlin, London, Luxembourg, San Francisco, Tel Aviv, and Valencia.
DTCP Defence invests in mission-critical technologies that strengthen European sovereignty and strategic resilience. The strategy focuses on the digital defence ecosystem, including secure communications, cyber defence, AI, autonomous systems, space technologies, and critical digital infrastructure that underpin national security and defence capabilities.