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Firestorm Labs Announces $82M in Funding to Deploy AI-Enabled Containerized Drone Factories Near Front Lines

Firestorm Labs, the San Diego defense startup behind a containerized drone manufacturing platform, has raised $82 million in Series B funding led by Washington Harbour Partners, with participation from Lockheed Martin, In-Q-Tel, Booz Allen Ventures, and NEA, bringing total funding to $153 million.

The company’s xCell platform fits inside a standard shipping container and can produce configurable drone systems in under 24 hours, capable of surveillance, electronic warfare, and lethal operations. CEO Dan Magy, alongside co-founders Chad McCoy, a special operations veteran, and CTO Ian Muceus, who holds over a dozen 3D printing patents, pivoted to containerized manufacturing after military customers requested production closer to conflict zones.

Two xCell units are currently deployed domestically with U.S. Air Force commands, and the platform is operational in the Indo-Pacific. Firestorm holds a five-year exclusive with HP for its industrial 3D printing technology and targets full Indo-Pacific deployment within two years.

James Dargan
About the author
James Dargan

James Dargan is a writer and researcher at The AI Insider. His focus is on the AI startup ecosystem and he writes articles on the space that have a tone accessible to the average reader.

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