Kraken Technology has successfully raised $175 million in a Series B funding round. These funds are earmarked to accelerate the development of autonomous naval defense systems. This financing valued the British company at $1 billion, making it one of Europe's latest technology unicorns specializing in defense technologies.
The round was led by DTCP and also attracted support from several organizations, including the British Business Bank, NATO Innovation Fund, Rheinmetall, Inocea Group, HICO, Thesiger Capital Group, BOKA Capital, Supernova Invest, Hakluyt Capital, the UK National Strategic Investment Fund, SmartCap, Notion Capital, and Speedinvest. The capital raised will allow the company to speed up product development and increase its international manufacturing presence. Furthermore, Kraken plans to strengthen production partnerships in key global defense markets.
The company, founded by CEO Mal Criss, develops autonomous surface and underwater unmanned platforms for defense, security, and commercial clients. The systems operate based on lightweight carbon fiber composite materials. The flagship K3 SCOUT platform supports tasks such as maritime surveillance, logistics, force protection, and precision target engagement. The company also produces the K4 MANTA, a hybrid vessel capable of operating both above and below the water for covert operations.
Kraken's larger platforms, such as the K5 KRAKEN and K7 SABRE, are designed for long-duration missions, anti-submarine warfare, and advanced strike capabilities. These modular systems allow operators to quickly adapt vessels to changing mission requirements. Kraken has established manufacturing partnerships with several international defense companies to support local production. Partners include Rheinmetall in Germany, Anduril Industries in the United States, and Davie Shipbuilding from Inocea in Canada. The company intends to create additional manufacturing alliances in the Middle East and the Indo-Pacific region. This strategy aims to enhance supply chain resilience and help defense clients develop their own manufacturing capacities.
The funding followed the acquisition of several major contracts from the UK Ministry of Defence, NATO partners across Europe, and the US Special Operations Command. Kraken stated that its autonomous platforms are already being used in active combat zones. CEO Mal Criss noted that the investment will accelerate the international launch of mission-ready naval capabilities for NATO allies and global defense partners. According to DTCP partner Ole Agirre, the maritime sector has historically received fewer investments despite its strategic importance. He added that Kraken has demonstrated the ability to rapidly create affordable autonomous vessels that meet NATO requirements. Kraken's distinction from many competitors lies in combining proprietary engineering with manufacturing partnerships, rather than building its own shipyards, which allows for faster production scaling and supports local industrial capacity in different regions.
LinqAlpha has successfully raised $22 million in a Series A funding round. These funds are earmarked to accelerate the growth of its artificial intelligence platform designed for institutional investors.
The round was supported by investors such as AVP, Atinum Investment, and GFT Ventures. Additionally, several strategic financial institutions and venture platforms from Europe, Asia, and the United States participated. The New York-based company develops what it calls the Alpha Intelligence Layer for global public markets.
The platform assists investment specialists in processing complex market information using specialized AI agents. With this new funding, LinqAlpha's total raised capital has increased to approximately $28.6 million.
LinqAlpha was founded in 2022 by Jacob Choi, Subin Pang, Jin Kim, and Hodjun Choi. The founding team combines financial expertise with research in artificial intelligence. Among the founders are former Goldman Sachs analysts and MIT computer science graduates.
As public markets become increasingly interconnected, investors are forced to simultaneously track earnings reports, policy changes, supply chain events, credit markets, and social media signals. LinqAlpha believes that traditional analysis methods cannot keep up with such a growing volume of data. The platform allows investment teams to use AI agents trained on their own research history instead of relying on general language models. These agents then link new market events to previous investment ideas to generate relevant insights. One of the founders noted that the competitive advantage lies in identifying market-influencing signals even before they become widely known.
Currently, the platform is used by over 70 financial institutions. Clients include research, trading, and sales teams at major investment banks. On the buying side, clients include Causeway Capital Management LLC and Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC. The company initially started in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and later operated between South Korea and the United States before establishing its headquarters in New York. During this period, the business also underwent two rebrandings before adopting the name LinqAlpha.
The new funding will allow the company to expand its international staff. Management also plans to strengthen integration with market and alternative datasets. Additional investments will be directed towards implementing equity, macroeconomics, credit, and multi-asset investment strategies.
LinqAlpha is entering the competitive market of AI research platforms. Demand continues to grow as investment firms seek faster analysis without compromising their proprietary insights. According to Manish Agarwal, General Partner at AVP, many AI products focus on automating routine tasks or accelerating information retrieval. He believes that LinqAlpha helps investors find differentiated investment ideas through context-aware intelligence.
Competition remains significant, as large AI service providers have attracted significantly more funding in recent years. Nevertheless, LinqAlpha asserts that its specialized approach better meets the needs of institutional investors who seek bespoke analysis rather than standard AI outputs. Industry forecasts also point to continued expansion in financial AI, with growing adoption among banks, insurance companies, and asset managers expected to attract further investment in companies developing specialized corporate AI platforms. LinqAlpha's long-term success will likely depend on demonstrating measurable value to institutional clients operating in increasingly complex global markets.
