Ukrainian defense startup Swarmer, which went public on Nasdaq (ticker: SWMR) in March this year, has announced a deal to acquire Ukrainian ground robotic complex (UGV) and unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) manufacturer Ratel Robotics, in a deal that could be worth $224 million.
According to Swarmer's release, the agreement provides for payment in cash and stock, contingent on the achievement of all performance targets (earn-out).
Completion of the deal depends on the fulfillment of the relevant conditions, as well as obtaining the necessary approvals from regulators and shareholders and compliance with applicable legal requirements.
"Combining a combat-proven launch platform with our autonomy software, which has also proven its effectiveness in combat, is the key to creating universal and interoperable solutions," Swarmer co-founder Alex Fink was quoted as saying in the release.
The release said Ratel Robotics has signed contracts worth a total of $86 million this year and is in talks with a number of NATO countries as part of the "Build With Ukraine" initiative.
Among Ratel Robotics' key products are modular unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) platforms used for battlefield logistics, casualty evacuation, reconnaissance, drone launches and demining.
Among other things, the company is also developing two variants of UAVs, mobile workshops, and solar-powered trailers.
Ratel Robotics currently employs more than 300 people. These employees are expected to join Swarmer once the deal closes, bringing the combined company's total headcount to nearly 500.
Swarmer stressed that Ratel Robotics founder and head Taras Ostapchuk will continue in his role at the company and will report directly to Fink.
"Together with Swarmer, we plan to combine ground and aerial capabilities while delivering an increasingly higher level of autonomy. This is the next stage in the evolution of modern warfare: minimizing the threat to people and shifting risk onto unmanned systems," Ostapchuk said.
Ratel Robotics is a Ukrainian manufacturer of unmanned systems that has been developing solutions to support Ukraine's Defense Forces on the battlefield since 2023.
According to the release, Swarmer's core areas of activity include autonomous swarm coordination, multi-domain unmanned systems integration, AI-based collaborative autonomy, and command-and-control software for distributed robotic operations. In addition, the company's clients include drone manufacturers that license Swarmer's software to integrate with their hardware platforms.
As previously reported, Swarmer posted a net loss of $4.5 million in January-March 2026, compared with $0.7 million in the same period of 2025. Revenue fell to $20,300 from $110,700, while operating expenses rose to $4.5 million from $0.8 million.
The company was founded by Serhiy Kuprienko and Alex Fink in May 2023. Its stated headquarters and marketing and sales office are in Austin, Texas, while engineering teams are split between offices in Kyiv, Ukraine, and Warsaw, Poland. The company's holding structure includes subsidiaries in Ukraine, Poland and Estonia.
It later emerged that Kuprienko announced on July 26 his decision to step down as global chief executive officer (CEO); following his departure, the duties of the company's chief officer have been carried out by the CEO of Swarmer's U.S. office and co-founder, Fink.
Swarmer's net loss widened to $7.3 million in the second quarter of 2026, from $1.6 million in the same period of 2025, while revenue rose to $216,000 from $138,200.
Swarmer's revenue fell to $0.31 million in 2025 from $0.33 million a year earlier, while its net loss widened to $8.53 million from $2.07 million.
