Defence drone and robotics startup raises $2 million pre-Seed for US beachhead
An 18-month-old robotics startup that emerged out of the UNSW Founders Defence 10X program in 2023, has raised $2 million in a pre-Seed round led by CSIRO-backed deep tech fund Main Sequence.
The raise for Breaker will be used to triple its team over the next six months and further expand its presence in the US.
The autonomous robotics startup is developing AI-powered software that enables drones and others systems such as robot dogs to act, adapt and communicate like humans. A single operator to control up to 100 systems for real-time decision-making in areas such as a battlefield.
Former Anduril software engineer Matthew Buffa, Michael Irwin and Vanja Videnovic founded Breakers in mid-2023 with initial funding support from UNSW Founders and private equity firm Banksia.
The business now multiple global defence contracts, a US base in Austin, Texas, and strategic industry collaborations with the likes of US-based SensorOps, Airvolute to integrate its AI agent into drone platforms, and the Australian Institute of Machine Learning for AI research.
Buffa, Breaker’s CEO said the future of robotics isn’t more hardware, but smarter software for machines to collaborate and adapt dynamically.
“Autonomous systems in defence often fall short—frontline operators still micromanage robots, making them more of a liability than an asset,” he said.
“Meanwhile, Australia’s defence forces face a different challenge: smaller-scale operations and limited resources. Autonomy must be trusted, adaptable and seamlessly integrated into human teams. By advancing AI-driven collaboration, we’re shaping the future of human-machine teaming.”
Breaker is also looking to scale its technology in sectors where synchronous decision-making is critical, such as infrastructure security, search and rescue, farming and mining.
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