The verified answer
As of Aug 2026, DEPLOY verifies Perennial Autonomy: 1 model, 3 deployments across 3 regions, $505.2M raised. 1 source back the record.
CategoryDrones
Appears inMilitary & defense drones
Overview
Perennial Autonomy is a defense technology company developing AI-enabled counter-drone systems, originally launched by former Google CEO Eric Schmidt as Project Eagle (formerly White Stork). Best known for the Merops interceptor drone, which has downed over 4,000 Russian Shahed drones in Ukraine since mid-2024, the company also produces the Bumblebee quadcopter and Hornet midrange strike drone. Its systems are deployed by U.S. forces in CENTCOM and by Ukrainian, Polish, and Lithuanian militaries.
Verified record
- Verified deployments
- 3 deployments on file
- Active incidents
- None on file
Valuation of record
DEPLOY VERIFIEDPriced roundOther post-money
Key facts
Founder
Pentagon contract
Unit cost
Product family
Also known as
CEO
Former names
Key contract
Merops unit cost
Bumblebee delivered
Data & sources
Web sources
1
1 source backing this record.View all →
Models (1)
View all models →Partnerships
Every company Perennial Autonomy has built with, alongside the ones only announced in a press release.
Most-frequent partners
- 1Picogrid1× joint
- 2Twentyfour Industries1× joint
- 3U.S. Department of Defense1× joint
Most recent
- Perennial Autonomy x Picogrid2026-06-17with Picogridoperating
- with U.S. Department of Defenseoperating
- with Twentyfour Industriesoperating
Perennial Autonomy on the deployment map
View the global map3 verified deployments across 3 regions, newest verified May 2026. Explore where Perennial Autonomy's robots are operating, by place and type.
View the full Perennial Autonomy deployment record →
Relationships
Explainers
Plain-language answers to the questions people ask about Perennial Autonomy, from DEPLOY’s explainer library. Each is written in the language of the question and cross-checked against this registry.
What is the Merops Interceptor?
How many drones has Merops shot down?
Current leadership (2)
- Mike Wior Co-founder & CEOreported, not verified
- Eric Schmidt Founderreported, not verified
Founders (2)
- Mike Wiorcofounder
previously at Allen Control Systems
- Eric Schmidtcofounder
previously at Google
Safety record
No incidents on record for Perennial Autonomy.
Only active incidents are counted. Retracted incidents are excluded from this summary but remain reachable at their canonical URLs.
Full safety record: incidents, sourcing, and exposure data →
Operator customers (1)
- Perennial Autonomy3 deployments
Recent coverage
Perennial Autonomy in third-party press
Peers
242 peers across 2 segments. Every Perennial Autonomy competitor derived from shared form-factor and application-domain edges.
service(144)
113 companies in this segment · competitive (HHI 831.3520919269878) · leader Bond at 1957%
- Allen Control Systemsdirect competitor(inferred)strong
- Dominion Dynamicsdirect competitor(inferred)strong
- Epirusdirect competitor(inferred)strong
- 1X Technologiesdirect competitor(inferred)moderate
- A&K Roboticsdirect competitor(inferred)moderate
- Aescapedirect competitor(inferred)moderate
drone(98)
57 companies in this segment · moderately_concentrated (HHI 1809.2177305910177) · leader Anduril Industries at 3057%
- AEVEX Aerospacedirect competitor(inferred)moderate
- ATL Global Holding AGdirect competitor(inferred)moderate
- Aereodirect competitor(inferred)moderate
- AeroVironmentdirect competitor(inferred)moderate
- AgXeeddirect competitor(inferred)moderate
- AirForestrydirect competitor(inferred)moderate
Financial state
- Total funding
- $505.2M
- Reporting basis
- private_reported
- Revenue disclosed
- $500000000 (private_reported)
- Lifecycle stage
- growth
- Counterparty risk class
- low
Each numeric field carries its own basis marker. Aggregators report a number; this surface preserves the source class so verification depth travels with the value.
Partnerships
3 total · 3 operating
Every company Perennial Autonomy has built with, alongside the ones only announced in a press release.
Most recent
- Perennial Autonomy x Picogrid2026-06-17with Picogridoperating
- with U.S. Department of Defenseoperating
- with Twentyfour Industriesoperating
Most-frequent partners
- 1Picogrid1× joint
- 2Twentyfour Industries1× joint
- 3U.S. Department of Defense1× joint
All 3 partnerships
open in the atlas →- Perennial Autonomy x PicogridwithPicogriddeployment2026-06-17operating
- Perennial Autonomy x Pentagon Counter-DronewithU.S. Department of Defensedeployment2026-05-19operating
- Perennial Autonomy x Twentyfour IndustrieswithTwentyfour Industriesmanufacturing2026-05-01operating
Funding rounds (2)
Perennial Autonomy’s 2 disclosed rounds, $505M in total, oldest to newest.
- Other2026-05-19
$500M(reported) · $2.5B post
Investors: U.S. Department of Defense (JIATF-401) (lead), U.S. Department of Defense
- Other2026-01-01
$5M(reported) · $26M post
Investors: U.S. Department of Defense (JIATF-401) (lead), U.S. Department of Defense
Timeline
Every recorded move in Perennial Autonomy’s history, most recent first: funding rounds, partnerships, acquisitions, supply-chain starts, key hires, and press.
PartnershipPerennial Autonomy x Picogrid
2026-06-17Picogrid's Legion software serves as the tactical integrator for Perennial Autonomy's Merops interceptors for US air defense in the Middle East, providing the integration layer that connects Merops to existing radars, sensors, and air defense systems including FAAD C2.
Funding roundOther funding round
2026-05-19Other raising $500000000
PartnershipPerennial Autonomy x Pentagon Counter-Drone
2026-05-19The Pentagon awarded Perennial Autonomy a 500M three-year contract to accelerate procurement of counter-drone technology including the Merops interceptor, Bumblebee quadcopter, and Hornet mid-range platform, all proven in Ukraine.
PartnershipPerennial Autonomy x Twentyfour Industries
2026-05-01Perennial Autonomy partnered with Twentyfour Industries to manufacture the Merops interceptor drone in Germany, expanding European production capacity.
Funding roundOther funding round
2026-01-01Other raising $5200000
Recent activity
Every change to this record is dated, sourced, and independently verified where marked.
- Record createdJul 6, 2026
Added to the verified registry
- Deployment verifiedVerifiedMay 5, 2026
Merops Interceptor at Lithuania
- Deployment verifiedVerifiedApr 1, 2025
Merops Interceptor at U.S. Central Command (Middle East)
- Deployment verifiedVerifiedJun 1, 2024
Merops Interceptor at Ukraine
Sources (1)
Common questions
What is Perennial Autonomy?
What does Perennial Autonomy make?
Is Perennial Autonomy publicly traded?
Who competes with Perennial Autonomy?
Who is the CEO of Perennial Autonomy?
How can I invest in Perennial Autonomy?
Where is Perennial Autonomy headquartered?
How much funding has Perennial Autonomy raised?
Who owns Perennial Autonomy?
Where does Perennial Autonomy operate robots?
How many robots has Perennial Autonomy deployed?
Is Perennial Autonomy a top robotics company?
When was Perennial Autonomy founded?
Is Perennial Autonomy safe?
Methodology: Verified · 1 source (no primary) · last reviewed 2026-08-21
Verification posture
Verified
Low confidence
Review state
Stable
Last reviewed 2026-08-21
Sources by quality tier
- 1
- unclassified
- Unclassified source
The framework is documented at /methodology. Corrections at /corrections. Reviewer: DEPLOY editorial team.
Methodology surface for Perennial Autonomy.Peer companies
- Amazon25 models
- Anduril Industries7 models
- DJI7 models
- Autel Robotics4 models
- Baykar4 models
- Earendil Robotics4 models
In the press
Recent coverage mentioning Perennial Autonomy from third-party publications. Automatically surfaced; not part of the verified registry record.
US Marines test Perennial Autonomy drones for recon and attack
The US Marine Corps’ 2nd Marine Division has concluded several days of integrated training and demonstrations with US defence technology company Perennial Autonomy. The post US…
U.S. Marine Corps evaluates family of Perennial Autonomy drones
A U.S. Marine Corps division has watched an American-made interceptor drone hunt down and destroy one of its own sister drones in a live demonstration, proving out technology the…
U.S. Marine Corps tests Perennial Autonomy drones for reconnaissance, strike and counter-drone missions at Twentynine Palms
The U.S. Marine Corps’ 2nd Marine Division completed several days of integrated training with AI-enabled drones from Perennial Autonomy.
Picogrid Providing Integration for Perennial Autonomy's Merops
Picogrid's Legion software is serving as the tactical integrator for Perennial Autonomy's Merops interceptors for US air defense in the Middle East, deployed alongside Merops…
Pentagon Backs AI Counter-Drone Startup with $500 Million Deal
DRONELIFE covers the $500M Pentagon contract and details the Merops, Bumblebee, and Hornet systems' specifications and combat history in Ukraine.
Perennial Autonomy Wins $500M Pentagon Counter-Drone Deal
Quwa covers the $500M Pentagon contract, noting Merops interceptors proven in Ukraine are now used by U.S. forces in CENTCOM against Iranian Shahed drones.
Pentagon inks $500 million deal with Perennial Autonomy for counter-drone tech
Defense News covers the $500M JIATF-401 contract for Merops interceptors, Bumblebee quadcopters, and Hornet strike drones, all deployed in CENTCOM.
Pentagon Awards $500M to Perennial Autonomy for Counter-Drone Interceptors Proven in Ukraine
Perennial Autonomy's Merops interceptor has downed more than 4,000 Russian drones in Ukraine and costs approximately $15,000 per unit versus $30,000-50,000 for a Shahed, making it…
Pentagon awards $500 million contract to Perennial Autonomy for counter-drone systems
JIATF-401 awarded Perennial Autonomy a three-year $500M IDIQ contract for AI-enabled counter-UAS systems including Merops, Bumblebee, and Hornet drones.
Lithuania joins U.S. and Poland in buying Merops interceptor drones
Lithuania purchased 48 Merops interceptors from Perennial Autonomy, joining the U.S. and Poland as NATO customers for the counter-drone system.
Machine-readable surfaces
- Markdown mirror: /companies/perennial-autonomy.md
- RSS feed: /companies/perennial-autonomy/feed.xml
- JSON-LD: embedded in this page’s head
- REST API: /v1/companies/bf4b4053-f086-4305-82bf-f11d193b1ec5
- Revision history: /companies/perennial-autonomy/history
- Data documentation: /data
- Query this programmatically: Deploy MCP
Peer companies
- Amazon25 models
- Anduril Industries7 models
- DJI7 models
- Autel Robotics4 models
- Baykar4 models
- Earendil Robotics4 models
Video
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Reality vs attention
Perennial Autonomy draws attention at the 58th percentile but verifies reality at the 76th percentile among aerial robots. Hype Gap -18.9, 91st widest among aerial robots.
6-month trend
Analysis
Clean safety record across 3 verified deployments. Well-capitalized with $505M raised and recent funding activity. Deployment footprint remains limited relative to category peers.
Signal flags
Dimension breakdown
Verified signal
Attention (reach, not merit)
DEPLOY Intelligence scores are computed from verified registry data: confirmed deployments, disclosed funding rounds, regulatory filings, active job listings, video viewership, and press coverage. Confidence ratings reflect data availability. Scores update nightly.
DEPLOY Indices — verified vs claimed
Last computed: Aug 29, 2026