Rhode Island Seaglider maker REGENT Craft on August 27 closed a $240 million Series B — an equal mix of equity and debt — co-led by Mare Liberum and AE Ventures with debt capital from Erebor Bank. The financing brings REGENT to $340 million in total commitments and funds the shift from prototype development into full-scale production of its Viceroy and autonomous Squire vessels.
A Rhode Island Record
The round is the largest venture financing in Rhode Island history and closes just as REGENT approaches the first human flight of the Viceroy Seaglider prototype and the start of production at its recently completed 255,000-square-foot Seaglider Manufacturing Facility in North Kingstown. Palmer Luckey-backed Erebor Bank supplied the debt tranche in what its CEO Owen Rapaport called "proof that American manufacturing can still move at startup speed."
Existing backers Founders Fund, Caffeinated Capital, Lockheed Martin Ventures, Japan Airlines and Giant Step Capital re-upped, and DCVC joined as a new investor. Mare Liberum and AE Ventures — the venture arm of $9.4 billion aerospace private-equity firm AE Industrial Partners — bring maritime and national-security expertise.
Dual-Use Momentum
Seaglider is a hydrofoiling wing-in-ground effect (WIG) craft that operates within one wingspan of the water, combining aircraft speed with boat-like access. REGENT is scaling on two fronts. On the defense side, the U.S. Marine Corps expanded its Viceroy contract to $15 million, and interest is rising in the autonomous Squire platform after successful military demonstrations. On the commercial side, REGENT holds a global order book spanning six continents and multiple years of manufacturing capacity.
Foreign Expansion Comes With The Cash
REGENT is deepening its relationship with Abu Dhabi's Strategic Development Fund — the investment vehicle wholly owned by EDGE Group — as it plans early Seaglider operations and future manufacturing expansion in the UAE. Fresh partnerships include Balnord in Poland for Baltic Sea defense needs and iGrow in Greece for Aegean coastal transport, one of the world's largest coastal markets.
Where It Fits
REGENT joins a widening cohort of dual-use maritime and unmanned-systems companies attracting large late-stage rounds. Recent comparable deals include Kraken Technology Group's $175M unicorn Series B for unmanned surface vessels and Muon Space's $250M round at a $1.5 billion valuation. Investors are betting the Department of War's maritime-theater focus and NATO's Baltic priorities will keep the order flow steady through 2030.
Reporting based on coverage from REGENT press release, The Defence Blog and AeroTime.