Skapion Raises $36 Million Seed Round to Build Counter-Swarm Drone System

Skapion, an Israeli defense-technology startup, announced a $36 million Seed financing round aimed at accelerating development of a mobile platform that can detect, engage, and neutralize coordinated drone swarms. The round was co-led by UP Partners and Khosla Ventures, with participation from Fusion VC, Stratos Ventures, TBD VC and q Fund. The company says the capital will fund additional hiring, engineering development, system validation, and outreach to governments and defense partners in Israel, the United States and other allied markets.

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Since 2022, inexpensive attack drones and one-way UAVs have shifted from niche tactical tools to a persistent threat against military forces, bases and critical infrastructure. While individual drones can often be intercepted, defending against large-scale attacks creates an economic imbalance, forcing militaries to expend costly interceptor missiles on far cheaper aerial threats. Skapion positions its “native counter-swarm” system as a solution that addresses the speed, scale and cost challenges of modern battlefield engagements.

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The founding team draws on Israel’s air-defense ecosystem. Co-founder and CEO Ido Bar-On previously led defense and government business at XTEND and served as a reserve lieutenant colonel in the Israel Defense Forces’ special operations. Brig. Gen. (Res.) Pini Yungman, co-founder and founding architect, was general manager of Rafael’s Air and Missile Defense Systems division, contributing to programs such as David’s Sling and Iron Dome. The team also includes CTO Gal Goren, renewable-energy entrepreneur Zafrir Yoeli (co-founder of Enlight Renewable Energy) and defense entrepreneur Yaron Karp. The startup reports a staff of “several dozen” engineers and specialists in aerospace, robotics, autonomy and defense technologies.

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Bar-On emphasized the shift in defense priorities: “The question is no longer whether a single drone can be detected or hit. The question is whether modern militaries can neutralize swarms at the speed, scale and cost required by today’s battlefield.” He added that the new funding will enable rapid expansion of the engineering team and further development of technology he describes as one of the most pressing defense challenges of the coming decade.

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“The question is no longer whether a single drone can be detected or hit. The question is whether modern militaries can neutralize swarms at the speed, scale and cost required by today’s battlefield.” — Ido Bar-On, Co-founder & CEO, Skapion

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