Defense technology startup Mara has secured a $7 million pre-seed round to advance Spike, its autonomous counter-drone platform designed to neutralize small FPV drones. The investment was led by Khosla Ventures and backed by a16z Speedrun, Night Capital, Palmdrive, Protagonist, Freedom Fund and Indicator Fund. The funding will move the system from field testing toward combat deployment, targeting initial ground-mounted deliveries by late 2026.
Addressing a Critical Defense Gap
Low-cost FPV drones have become a leading cause of combat casualties because they can launch from anywhere, attack in swarms and bypass traditional jamming. Many existing counter-drone systems were designed for larger aircraft flying predictable paths rather than multiple small threats arriving simultaneously. Mara says Spike takes a distributed and autonomous approach to close this gap.
How Spike Works
Spike consists of two modular components that can operate independently or together. The Spotter sensor combines visual, acoustic and optional radar inputs with onboard artificial intelligence for detection in varied conditions. The Seeker interceptor weighs 250 grams, reaches 200 kilometers per hour and can be tube-launched with human operators retaining control over engagement rules.
The system can be scaled across different missions, from a rucksack-portable configuration for dismounted squads to vehicle-mounted units for convoys. Larger deployments can establish multi-kilometer perimeters around bases, front lines, stadiums or power plants. Mara states that a complete Spike system costs less than the vehicle, aircraft or facility it protects.
Field Progress and Early Validation
Spike has already achieved significant field milestones across multiple military environments. Seeker completed intercepts cued through U.S. Army software during an exercise in Texas, while Spotter operated hands-free on an armored vehicle in Europe. Mara also demonstrated end-to-end engagement with a U.S. special operations unit, where Spotter detected a target and cued Seeker without operator input.
Ukrainian forces operated Spotter roughly 40 kilometers from the front line in July, tracking multiple FPV drones. Beyond defense, Mara is running a civilian pilot at a South Korean port. The company also holds cooperative research and testing agreements with three U.S. defense organizations and was selected for NATO's DIANA innovation accelerator.
Founder Background and Vision
Mara was founded in 2024 by Daniel Kofman and Sriram Raghu, who met in high school and later built tactical FPV prototypes from their college dorm rooms. They co-founded Optivolt, which supplied smart solar panels to Anduril, the U.S. Air Force and Ukraine. The founders created Mara to address what they saw as the most consequential gap in modern defense.
Funding and Market Position
The pre-seed round marks Khosla Ventures' second defense technology investment since April 2026, following its role in Hermeus's larger funding effort. Nicole Fraenkel, a partner at Khosla Ventures, said the company is building counter-drone autonomy at a system cost orders of magnitude lower than anything else observed. Investors are backing Mara as demand for counter-UAS capabilities grows alongside rapid FPV proliferation.
The global counter-UAS market was valued at roughly $6.64 billion in 2025 and is projected to reach $20.31 billion by 2030. Mara faces competition from larger counter-drone providers such as DroneShield, Fortem and Anduril, but differentiates itself through expendable, low-cost interceptors. Its pricing strategy positions Spike closer to the cost of the drones it defeats rather than traditional defense hardware.
Mara plans to supply ground-mounted Spike units to key customers by the end of 2026, with vehicle-mounted and man-portable versions following in 2027. The company is initially focused on deploying Spike at scale, and its longer-term vision includes producing affordable autonomous robots for land, air and sea operations. With this funding, Mara aims to prove that low-cost distributed defense can match the economics of modern small drone warfare.