SYOS Aerospace, a manufacturer of autonomous vehicles for defence, civil, and commercial applications, has completed its first institutional capital-raising round. The investment was led by NZVC, Outset Ventures, and Altered Capital, alongside undisclosed strategic funds. The financing, structured as a convertible note, will support the next stage of the company's growth strategy and follows five years of expansion funded by customer contracts.
Capital to Accelerate Expansion
The company said the new capital will be used to expand its global footprint, strengthen research and development, and increase production capacity to meet growing customer demand. The terms of the convertible note were not disclosed. The raise follows significant customer-funded growth, including a £30 million agreement in 2025 with the United Kingdom's Ministry of Defence.
Foundations and Global Reach
SYOS was founded in 2021 in Mount Maunganui, New Zealand, and is jointly headquartered in the United Kingdom and New Zealand. It won its first contracts in 2023 through competitive tenders to the UK Ministry of Defence. Today the company operates across NATO and the Indo-Pacific region, maintains a presence in Ukraine, and employs almost 200 people.
Autonomous Technology Across Domains
Every SYOS vehicle is uncrewed and can operate autonomously through the company's proprietary AAIMS (Autonomy and Augmented Intelligence Mission System) software, which spans air, land, sea, and underwater platforms. Customers can deploy a single vehicle or a coordinated portfolio through the same autonomy layer. The systems are engineered to keep platforms deliberately lean while concentrating investment in autonomy and sensing where operational advantage sits.
Operational Momentum
SYOS has delivered more than 150 uncrewed surface vehicles to allied nations and has repeatedly won work against established prime contractors. Its vehicles are operationally proven in the conflicted environment of Ukraine, where rapid spiral development is driven by front-line user feedback. The company has proven serial production lines for different products across air, land, sea, and underwater domains.
Recent Product Milestones
In February 2026 SYOS secured a sovereign defence contract with the New Zealand Defence Force to provide a suite of uncrewed vehicles for experimentation, services, and training. In March 2026 its SA200 uncrewed heavy-lift helicopter completed fully autonomous mission trials, including take-off and landing from a moving platform. In May 2026 the company launched the SU10 uncrewed underwater vehicle, which is being paired with its surface vehicle offering.
Investor Confidence
NZVC General Partner Mark Pavlyukovskyy said allied democracies need real capability to protect their values and that SYOS builds that capability. He noted that SYOS uncrewed systems ship in months at volume and that NZVC will support scaling production and open doors in the United States defence and technology industries. Outset Ventures Managing Partner Angus Blair, who joins the SYOS board, said the team built a defence manufacturer on limited capital through customer contracts.
The first institutional capital raise positions SYOS to scale production and deepen its presence across allied defence markets. The company's multi-domain portfolio and autonomy software address a growing need for rapidly deployable uncrewed systems. With operations in the United Kingdom, New Zealand, and Ukraine, SYOS is poised to continue converting operational experience into advanced capability for NATO and Indo-Pacific partners.