California defense startup Mara raised a $7 million pre-seed round led by Khosla Ventures to accelerate its Spike counter-UAS platform. Spike combines 360-degree sensing with lightweight kinetic interceptor drones designed to automatically detect and defeat small FPV drones, including systems that may be difficult to stop through electronic warfare alone.
Other investors reportedly include a16z Speedrun, Night Capital, Palmdrive, Protagonist, Freedom Fund and Indicator Fund.
Investor significance: The round illustrates growing VC interest in the low-cost interceptor / autonomous counter-UAS segment. The economics are particularly attractive because militaries increasingly want interceptors whose cost is proportional to inexpensive hostile drones rather than traditional missiles.
