What does Milliray do and who are its investors?

Milliray builds mmWave radar (30-300GHz) fused with camera and acoustic sensors to detect small, low-signature drones. Backers include Y Combinator (W26 batch), NATO DIANA, UK Defence and Security Accelerator, and the Royal Academy of Engineering, per the company's own site.

Is Milliray profitable or generating revenue in 2026?

No confirmed revenue, ARR, or customer figures exist for Milliray as of June 2026. Third-party trackers report no disclosed paying customers; the company is pre-revenue and still on a convertible note, reportedly totaling about 620,000 dollars as of April 2026.

How many employees does Milliray have?

One directory listed Milliray at 4 employees as of a June 2026 snapshot. Y Combinator's own jobs page showed no open roles posted, consistent with a very small founding team at seed stage.

Could AI or a larger competitor replace Milliray's technology?

Milliray's signal-classification layer (distinguishing drone signatures from clutter) is the kind of task larger platforms like Anduril's Lattice could absorb into their own AI stacks. No independent benchmarks confirm Milliray's classification holds an edge over incumbents as of June 2026.

Who is Milliray's biggest competitor?

Dedrone, now owned by Axon since October 2024, has over 700 installations and is the most widely deployed commercial counter-UAS platform, dwarfing Milliray's pre-revenue, single-digit-employee stage as of mid-2026.

Why was Milliray previously called DroneTector?

Milliray launched publicly on Y Combinator's platform as DroneTector on February 19, 2026, then rebranded to Milliray within the same YC W26 batch window, per YC's own launch and company pages.

YC Winter 2026 · United Kingdom

Milliray

UK startup building mmWave radar to detect and track small drones.

Losing its protection

Assessed 27 July 2026 · Evidence as of 27 July 2026

The structural protection is eroding.

On the recordSince 27 July 2026 · Checkable from H2 2026 · Every call on the record Checkpoint: First FEMA counter-UAS grant pilot awards expected under the $500M program

The call

Milliray has real backers and a real technical niche, but sits between much larger companies already selling detection and command systems to the same buyers.

Milliray sells millimeter-wave radar systems designed to detect small drones, filling a gap that just opened up after the government passed new laws and started handing out $500 million in grants for drone defense. The company faces serious competition: Axon (which bought Dedrone and already has 700+ systems installed), Fortem Technologies, and Anduril Industries all have similar products in the market or chosen by the military. Because radar technology is not a secret and bigger companies can hire the same engineers, there is nothing stopping those rivals from copying Milliray's approach or simply buying the company for its radar team. The one thing that could change the game is if Milliray's radar system proves dramatically better than competitors in real-world tests over the next two years, which would make it too valuable for a competitor to pass up acquiring.

Why

AI pressure: Anduril Lattice. Lattice's AI-driven command layer could absorb drone detection into software, making standalone radar sensors like Milliray's a commodity input. Could AI do the core job? Yes, likely.

Bigger players: Axon (via Dedrone acquisition). Dedrone already has 700+ installs and Axon's sales machine behind it, covering the same counter-drone detection niche Milliray is entering. Could a giant copy it? Yes, easily.

What protects it. Government-backed validation (YC, NATO DIANA, UK DASA, Royal Academy of Engineering) gives it credibility and pilot access larger rivals can't easily block.

What would change this call

FEMA C-UAS grant pilot awards announced within 6-12 months. Shows whether Milliray or incumbents like Fortem/Dedrone win the funded deployments.
Any M&A rumor or acquisition talk involving Milliray by Axon, Anduril, or Raytheon. Would confirm the likely outcome is a feature-exit, not independent growth.
Publication of independent mmWave detection benchmark vs Fortem SkyDome or Echodyne next-gen radar. Would test whether Milliray's claimed technical edge actually holds up.

Key numbers

$620K raised on convertible note (2026-04-19)
4 employees (2026-06-21)
Dedrone/Axon has 700+ installed systems (2026)

Named risks

No independently verified detection-accuracy or false-positive benchmarks exist for Milliray's product. Severity: high
Incumbents (Dedrone/Axon, Fortem, Anduril) already ship and win contracts in the same market, with no structural barrier stopping them from copying mmWave capability. Severity: high
Company identity unstable: conflicting founding year (2020 vs 2023) and HQ (Glasgow vs Palo Alto) across trackers, plus a mid-batch rebrand from DroneTector. Severity: medium
Funding remains at convertible-note stage with only about 620,000 USD raised as of April 2026, no priced seed or Series A disclosed. Severity: medium
Defense/public-safety budgets are consolidating around large primes (Anduril, Axon), squeezing standalone small-vendor deals. Severity: high

Rivals, as read in July 2026

Rival	Direction	Evidence
Dedrone (Axon)	losing to	700+ live installs vs Milliray's zero disclosed customers as of June 2026
Fortem Technologies	losing to	Selected for Pentagon Replicator-2 and FIFA World Cup venue contracts by June 2026
Anduril Industries (Lattice)	losing to	Named DOD tactical C-UAS C2 backbone March 2026, 87M dollar award, risk of absorbing sensor layer
Sentrycs	losing to	Won 2026 FIFA World Cup venue protection contracts, per June 2026 vendor landscape

Questions people ask

What does Milliray do and who are its investors?: Milliray builds mmWave radar (30-300GHz) fused with camera and acoustic sensors to detect small, low-signature drones. Backers include Y Combinator (W26 batch), NATO DIANA, UK Defence and Security Accelerator, and the Royal Academy of Engineering, per the company's own site.
Is Milliray profitable or generating revenue in 2026?: No confirmed revenue, ARR, or customer figures exist for Milliray as of June 2026. Third-party trackers report no disclosed paying customers; the company is pre-revenue and still on a convertible note, reportedly totaling about 620,000 dollars as of April 2026.
How many employees does Milliray have?: One directory listed Milliray at 4 employees as of a June 2026 snapshot. Y Combinator's own jobs page showed no open roles posted, consistent with a very small founding team at seed stage.
Could AI or a larger competitor replace Milliray's technology?: Milliray's signal-classification layer (distinguishing drone signatures from clutter) is the kind of task larger platforms like Anduril's Lattice could absorb into their own AI stacks. No independent benchmarks confirm Milliray's classification holds an edge over incumbents as of June 2026.
Who is Milliray's biggest competitor?: Dedrone, now owned by Axon since October 2024, has over 700 installations and is the most widely deployed commercial counter-UAS platform, dwarfing Milliray's pre-revenue, single-digit-employee stage as of mid-2026.
Why was Milliray previously called DroneTector?: Milliray launched publicly on Y Combinator's platform as DroneTector on February 19, 2026, then rebranded to Milliray within the same YC W26 batch window, per YC's own launch and company pages.

Timeline

2026-06-21StartupHub snapshot lists Milliray at 4 employees, no confirmed revenue
2026-06-01Anduril's Lattice named DOD tactical counter-UAS C2 backbone by JIATF-401, awarded 87M dollar contract within 20B ceiling (March 2026)
2026-05-01Vendor-adjacent commentary piece frames Milliray as worth watching, cites no revenue figures
2026-04-19CB Insights snapshot lists Milliray total funding at about 620,000 dollars, convertible note stage
2026-02-19Company launches publicly on Y Combinator as DroneTector
2026-01-01Caplight references a Seed round dated for Milliray with investor ConceptionX, amount fields blank
2025-10Approximate date of a 500,000 dollar funding tranche, per CB Insights (six months before April 2026 snapshot)
2024-10Axon Enterprise acquires Dedrone, a leading counter-UAS detection vendor with 700+ installs

Revision history

27 July 2026

First assessed. Losing its protection. The text above is fixed as of this date and is not edited afterwards.

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