US defence technology company Nominal has raised $240 million (£183 million) in Series C funding, tripling its valuation to $3 billion as demand grows for software that speeds up the development and testing of military systems. It competes with the likes of European startup PhysicsX.
Nominal’s mainstay business is out of its home country. This investment follows the company’s selection for $71.2 million in US Air Force and Navy funding in October, supporting testing and data infrastructure for the Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) programme.
The company also works with defence manufacturers including Anduril and General Atomics, both of which are developing autonomous aircraft for the US military. Nominal says more than 300 engineers at Anduril use its software, with analysis that previously took five to six hours now completed in near real time.
Nominal has also been quietly building its presence in Europe, with an office already established in London and several key hires in place. However, it remains unclear who its European customers are or how far its expansion plans extend, particularly as governments across the continent push to reduce their reliance on US defence technology. We have reached out to the company’s CEO and co-founder Cameron McCord and will update this post as we learn more.
The round was led by Lightspeed Venture Partners and Insight Partners, with participation from existing investors including Lux Capital, Sequoia Capital and strategic backer Lockheed Martin Ventures. It’s been a big day for defence tech funding, with Lux also leading a $300 million round for Onodrim in Europe announced earlier today.
Nominal develops software that helps engineers collect and analyse data from hardware testing, including military aircraft and autonomous platforms. The aim is to identify faults earlier and cut the time it takes to get new systems into service.
The US military wants to get uncrewed combat aircraft flying alongside piloted fighters without the lengthy development times or costs associated with traditional aircraft programmes. Nominal’s role is to help make sense of the data generated during testing, allowing engineers to spot problems and make changes more quickly.
The company said on Monday that its revenue has more than tripled since the beginning of 2026, while its customer base now includes more than 80 commercial and government organisations, including five of the seven largest defence contractors.
The new funding will support further product development and expansion into new markets, with Nominal also considering additional acquisitions. It has already bought two companies this year, including Fid Labs, which is helping the company to develop AI agents, and automotive software specialist Pull Systems.
