Sky Spy Raises $1.6M Pre-Seed Led by Expeditions Fund and Superangel to Scale Battlefield-Proven SIGINT Technology

Sky Spy, a dual‑use defense‑technology startup specializing in compact signal intelligence (SIGINT) systems for contested and congested electromagnetic environments, has closed an oversubscribed $1.6 million pre‑seed funding round to support its market entry, production launch, and team expansion as it moves toward scaled deployment of battlefield‑proven technology.

The financing was co‑led by Expeditions Fund and Superangel, with participation from a group of investors that also includes Freedom Fund, Sunfish Partners, Crosscourt Ventures, and Material Ventures. This eclectic investor base reflects confidence in Sky Spy’s approach to solving a critical capability gap in modern signal intelligence by leveraging autonomous systems and AI‑driven analysis at a fraction of the cost and complexity of legacy platforms.

Sky Spy was founded by a multinational team with Ukrainian roots and now operates across the United States and Europe. The company was built to address a fundamental shortcoming in traditional SIGINT systems that emerged during the war in Ukraine, where dense fields of civilian, commercial, and military radio transmitters have rendered many legacy solutions ineffective. In these conditions, ground forces and allied units have had to rely on visual reconnaissance to compensate for intelligence blind spots, missing a large proportion of high‑priority targets. Sky Spy’s mission is to provide real-time spectral awareness that can operate reliably even under heavy electronic congestion, jamming, and GPS‑denied conditions.

Central to the company’s offering is its first product, Agent 001, a lightweight SIGINT payload that transforms small unmanned aerial systems (UAS) into autonomous “spectrum hunters.” Weighing just over 500 grams, Agent 001 combines radio‑frequency intelligence with onboard processing and visual confirmation to detect, classify, and geolocate hostile emitters — such as unmanned aircraft system control stations and jammers — in real time. Unlike traditional solutions that rely on large airborne platforms or ground networks with external compute resources, Agent 001 performs its entire signal‑processing pipeline onboard, enabling rapid, actionable insights that can be integrated directly into existing command and control infrastructures.

The pre‑seed funding will be used to accelerate Sky Spy’s go‑to‑market efforts, bolster production capabilities, and hire talent necessary to scale development of fully autonomous, AI‑enabled versions of its systems. The investment comes on the heels of successful frontline validation of Agent 001 with active military units in Ukraine, where the system demonstrated its ability to detect and geolocate hostile emitters with precision in one of the world’s most saturated and contested electromagnetic environments. Soldiers involved in those trials reportedly described the technology as the first solution of its kind to prove effective under live combat conditions.

Expeditions Fund described its support as a bet on a technology that could “radically improve signal intelligence in contested environments,” noting the product’s battlefield validation, strong team credentials, and potential to address one of the most pressing challenges facing modern defense forces. Superangel echoed this sentiment, citing the founders’ deep technical talent and operational insight as key reasons for backing the startup’s rapid growth.

Beyond defense applications, Sky Spy’s systems are designed with dual‑use potential in mind. Compact, affordable SIGINT capabilities could be valuable in civilian sectors such as critical infrastructure protection, aerial traffic management, and emergency response, where real‑time situational awareness of the radio spectrum can enhance safety and operational effectiveness.

The startup’s international team combines technical expertise with operational experience gained in active combat zones, giving it a unique perspective on the practical requirements of signal intelligence in real‑world, high‑stakes environments. Sky Spy is already engaging with several leading UAS manufacturers to integrate its technology into next-generation tactical intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance platforms, setting the stage for broader adoption as it transitions from pilot deployments to scaled production and global market expansion.

With its $1.6 million pre‑seed funding secured and battlefield performance validated, Sky Spy is poised to scale its innovative SIGINT technology, offering advanced spectrum awareness capabilities that address the limitations of legacy intelligence systems while opening new commercial and defense opportunities in an era where radio frequency dominance is increasingly central to operational success.