German defence startup ARX Robotics has raised €31m ($35.2m) in its Series A funding round to advance autonomous defence systems.

The funding was led by German venture capital fund HV Capital, with contributions from Omnes Capital, the NATO Innovation Fund, Project A, and investment company Heliad.

HV Capital partner Fabian Gruner said: “ARX is proof that Europe can build internationally relevant defence technology: modern, AI-native, and strategically sovereign.

“Their rapid deployment across Europe is a testament to both the urgency and strength of their product.”

Founded in 2022, ARX Robotics is developing unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs) for defence applications.

Its Gereon-RCS series and the AI-driven Mithra OS are designed to meet a variety of military needs while ensuring a fully European supply chain.

ARX Robotics’ scalable, software-defined systems have been adopted by six European armed forces.

With the fresh capital, ARX Robotics plans to quintuple its production capacity by 2025 to address growing demand.

The company also plans to use the proceeds to enhance its AI capabilities for smarter UGVs, expand into additional European markets, and modernise more than 50,000 NATO vehicles with its technology.

ARX Robotics co-founder and CEO Marc Wietfeld said: “The demand for modular, software-driven defence systems is growing rapidly—and we’re building the company that will define this category in Europe.

“At the core of ARX Robotics is a clear mission: to build the next generation of defence infrastructure through scalable robotics and software. 

“This fresh funding is an important milestone and catalyst that allows us to move from successful deployments to industrial scale.”

ARX Robotics’ recent expansion efforts include opening an office in London, UK and establishing a new production facility in southern England.

A strategic partnership with Daimler Truck has also been formed to co-develop next-generation military mobility solutions.

NATO Innovation Fund Partner Chris O’Connor said: “We are proud of the tremendous progress the ARX Robotics team has made over the previous year, including growing their suite of products to address the legacy ground fleet, expanding geographic reach and building a world class team.

“ARX Robotics has fielded the largest Western UGV fleet to Ukraine and we look forward to continuing to support the company as it expands its reach across NATO nations.”