HavocAI Ramps Up Military Drone Boat Production With $85M Boost
Rhode Island-based defense startup HavocAI has raised $85 million to accelerate production of its unmanned surface vessels (USVs) and expand partnerships with the US military and allied nations.
The funding follows the passage of the Trump administration’s “Big Beautiful Bill,” which allocates billions for artificial intelligence (AI) programs across the Pentagon.
Co-founded by US Navy veterans Paul Lwin and Joe Turner, HavocAI closed the round in just three months to stay ahead of competitors, according to Fortune.
The raise brings the firm’s total capital to nearly $100 million since launching in early 2024, which since then has also grown to about 80 employees.
New investors include B Capital, In-Q-Tel, Lockheed Martin, Hanwha, Taiwania Capital, Vanderbilt University, Up Partners, Island Green Capital, and Zero Infinity Partners, with continued support from Scout Ventures and Outlander Ventures.
AI Suite, USV Solutions
HavocAI upgrades commercial vessels with its proprietary AI-driven control system, which allows users to navigate and coordinate missions with minimal human oversight, instead of designing new hulls from scratch.
The company also offers an in-house USV line, which gained attention during last summer’s US Navy “Silent Swarm” trials.
The service subsequently purchased a dozen of the platforms, including the 14-foot (4-meter) Rampage USV at roughly $100,000 each. Lwin compared the price to munitions, emphasizing that the vessels are expendable in combat.
“We want our vessels to be priced similar to munition prices, where if you expend these, or you use them, or they get blown up, it’s not a big deal — you still have thousands of them,” he said, but added that larger models will cost more.
Expanding Fleet and Global Reach
HavocAI currently supports contracts with the US Army, US Navy, and Defense Innovation Unit, while testing larger autonomous boats in Rhode Island, including the 38-foot (12-meter) Seahound, 42-foot (13-meter) Kaikoa, and 100-foot (30-meter) Atlas.
Louisiana-based Metal Shark plans to integrate HavocAI’s software into its unmanned surface vessels, while Lockheed Martin is collaborating with the startup to speed up development of medium USVs for naval defense.
Despite being among several American defense tech firms sanctioned by China last year for supplying weapons systems to Taiwan, HavocAI continues to expand as the Department of Defense increasingly deploys autonomous systems across its forces.
