Frankenburg Technologies, an Estonian defence technology startup, raised €30 million in new funding that will be used to mass produce the company’s interceptor missiles.
The company intends to use the capital to rapidly scale the production of its flagship Mark I interceptor missile, a low-cost, high-speed solution designed specifically to counter the growing global threat of mass-produced attack drones.
The investment round was led by the operator-led investment platform Plural, with significant participation from the Estonian state-backed fund SmartCap. It brings Frankenburg’s total capital raised to €40 million.
Founded in 2024 by serial entrepreneurs Taavi Madiberk and Marko Virkebau, Frankenburg Technologies was born from the realisation that traditional defence systems are too expensive and slow to manufacture for modern, high-attrition warfare.
According to Madiberk, he founded Frankenburg because Europe needed a “SpaceX-style shift in defence missiles”.
Solving the economic imbalance of warfare
The funding will help the establishment of two mass production sites within the European Union. The company’s goal is achieving a production capacity of more than 100 missiles per day at each site.
By focusing on “low-cost interceptors,” it aims to solve the economic imbalance of modern drone warfare, where expensive, million-dollar missiles are often used to down drones that cost only a few thousand dollars to produce.
In another development, the British aerospace company, BAE Systems, has signed a memorandum of understanding with Frankenburg to explore collaboration on counter-drone technologies. The agreement will initially focus on combining the companies’ expertise to accelerate the development of warheads for Frankenburg’s planned mass-producible missile systems.
Frankenburg currently operates across eight countries, including Estonia, Latvia, Germany, the UK and Ukraine, where its systems are being developed with real-world operational feedback. It is led by CEO Kusti Salm, the former permanent secretary of Estonia’s defence ministry.
