Drones startup StirlingX raises £15m led by Ventura Capital with Rokos Capital Management
This article covers StirlingX, a drones startup, which has raised £15m in a series A funding round led by Ventura Capital and RCM Private Markets Master Fund managed by Rokos Capital Management US (LP). The funding will accelerate development and commercial roll-out of a sovereign intelligence and autonomy platform designed to securely capture, fuse, analyse and act on sensor data in contested or degraded environments, supporting defence ministries, infrastructure operators and other users requiring resilient data capabilities.
StirlingX, a drones startup, has raised £15m in a series A funding round led by Ventura Capital and RCM Private Markets Master Fund managed by Rokos Capital Management US (LP). The capital, announced months after the company’s seed round, will be used to accelerate product development and commercial roll-out of a sovereign intelligence and autonomy platform designed to capture, secure, fuse, analyse and act on data in complex and contested environments.
Why it matters
Secure, timely use of high-value data is a growing priority for governments and operators of critical national infrastructure. StirlingX targets a specific gap: collecting and acting on sensor data in environments where connectivity, security and adversary activity complicate operations. If the platform performs as claimed, it could shorten decision cycles in surveying, monitoring and defensive tasks—areas that matter to defence ministries, infrastructure operators and regulators.
Inside the product
StirlingX’s platform combines data capture, secure handling, fusion and analysis with autonomy features intended for contested settings. Current use cases described by the company include surveying, mapping and monitoring critical infrastructure and detecting and countering hostile drones. The company was founded and incubated within GALLOS Technologies, a venture studio and investor that focuses on security technology companies and brings experience in building and scaling defensive and intelligence-focused ventures.
Who are the investors?
The £15m series A is led by Ventura Capital alongside RCM Private Markets Master Fund, managed by Rokos Capital Management US (LP). Rokos is an existing shareholder and the financing follows a seed round completed only months earlier.
In the announcement, Mo El Husseiny, Managing Partner at Ventura Capital, said:
StirlingX represents a unique combination of establishment trust, technical expertise and execution excellence. The utilisation of powerful data intelligence has become a must for Government and corporates, and increasingly so within a sovereign-secure framework. StirlingX is the trusted solution for Five Eyes and beyond. We are delighted to lead this Series A and we are looking forward to supporting the business as it scales against its huge opportunity set.
In the announcement, Jonathan Ross, Head of Private Markets at Rokos Capital Management, said:
As an existing shareholder we have seen firsthand the quality of the team and scale of their ambition. We are proud to grow our investment in StirlingX as it moves into this next phase.
If you're researching potential backers in this space:
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Founder perspective
In the announcement, Dean Jones, Founder & CEO at StirlingX, said:
We are building a category-defining sovereign data intelligence company. This Series A will drive our business forward as we scale with new and existing partners across critical national infrastructure and defence ministries and agencies.
In the announcement, Jeremy Fleming, Chairman at StirlingX, said:
In an increasingly contested world, the ability to securely capture, fuse and act upon data is becoming a critical strategic advantage. This investment in StirlingX will accelerate the development of a uniquely British capability with significant national and international potential.
Sir Jeremy Fleming, the company’s chair, is the former Director of GCHQ, a background that the company highlights when discussing trust and engagement with government customers.
The bigger picture
The funding sits within a broader UK trend of investment in sovereign capabilities for defence and critical infrastructure resilience. Demand for domestic solutions that can operate in contested or degraded environments has risen alongside interest in autonomy and resilient communications. For investors, security-focused startups combine technical complexity with long sales cycles to public sector buyers, meaning commercial traction and trusted relationships—such as those claimed by StirlingX—are important signals.
The deal also reflects continuing appetite among UK investors for companies that address national security and infrastructure protection, and underscores how venture funding is being applied to technologies that bridge commercial autonomy and defence requirements.
They've invested in StirlingX
Get to know these drones investors
| Investors | Investment Focus | Startup Investments | Round Size | Connect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Ventura Capital( ) The venture capital firm focuses on disruptive consumer and enterprise technolog... London  | ||||
 RCM Private Markets Master Fund( ) | ||||
 Rokos Capital Management US (LP)( ) | ||||
 GALLOS Technologies( ) Gallos Technologies is a London-based venture studio and specialist investor foc... London | ||||
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