When Palmer Luckey, founder of US defense-tech giant Anduril Industries, visited Israel at the beginning of the year, Kela Technologies was among the stops on his agenda.
According to information first reported by "Globes," Luckey even considered the possibility of acquiring the young company but the founders rejected the offer. As far as they are concerned, a quick sale is not their goal. They are interested in building an independent company that will become a significant player in the global defense market.
Kela was founded in July 2024 by Alon Dror, winner of the Israel Defense Award 2018 and a former senior member of the Directorate of Defense Research & Development (MAFAT), Hamutal Meridor, former president of Palantir Technologies Israel and a venture capital investor, VP R&D Omer Bar-Ilan, and head of Product Jason Manne. From the very beginning, the company stood out, thanks to a combination of veterans of the defense establishment, technology experts, and experienced entrepreneurs.
The company operates in a sector that for years has been considered the home ground of established defense giants. Its main product is a open architecture command-and-control system, designed to connect sensors, drones, radars, intelligence systems, and weapons from different sources on a single platform.
Kela compares this approach to the Android system: a platform on which different players can develop abilities and connect relatively easily. Unlike with closed systems, the objective is to allow for flexibility and quick adaptation to changing needs in the field.
The idea was inspired by Anduril, which started as a border systems company and became one of the fastest growing defense companies in the world in less than a decade. But Kela is not satisfied with the comparison. In private conversations, the company's founders tend to say that they aspire to become the fourth "prime" of the Israeli defense industry, a term that refers to the large defense contractors that lead strategic projects for countries and armies. This is a very ambitious goal in a market in which Elbit Systems, Rafael and Israel Aerospace Industries have been operating for decades.
Investors also apparently believe in the potential. In less than two years, Kela has raised about $300 million. The latest round, $200 million at a valuation of $1.2 billion, was led by investment funds Stripes and D1 Ventures, along with billionaire Bill Ackman, former Google CEO Eric Schmidt, Sequoia Capital, and Lux Capital. Among the first investors in the company was In-Q-Tel, the investment arm of the CIA.
Fast-growing
According to data first published by "Globes," Kela has recorded amazing growth in the past year, with revenue of about $20 million and contracts totaling at least $50 million. At the same time, it has grown to about 150 employees, set up a factory in southern Israel, and expanded its activity from a limited number of outposts to dozens of deployment points within Israel's borders.
Currently, Kela operates mainly within the domestic defense establishment, but it is already considering expanding into the US market. Kela's strategy is based in part on collaborations; the company signed an agreement with US company Starling to integrate autonomous aircraft into its system, and is also working to integrate additional technologies: sensors, drones and intelligence gathering systems. At the same time, instead of producing each component, it aims to become a platform that connects different capabilities, allowing an army or security organization to operate them from one place.
Becoming a defense giant is still a long haul. The defense market is characterized by slow sales cycles, complex procurement processes, and stringent regulatory requirements. In addition, Kela’s competitors are established players with decades of experience and deep connections within the defense establishment.
But at this stage, it seems that the combination of an outstanding founding team, huge funding, rapid market penetration, and interest from international entities has already made it one of the most talked-about Israeli defense-tech companies to be established recent years. If Kela succeeds in replicating its rapid progress in Israel in the US market, it could transform from being one of the great promises of the local defense industry into a real international player
Year founded: 2024
Capital raised: $300 million
Employees: About 150
Investors: Stripes, D1 Ventures, Sequoia Capital, Lux Capital, In-Q-Tel (the investment arm of the CIA), Bill Ackman, and Eric Schmidt
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on June 17, 2026.
© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd., 2026.