Artificial intelligence (AI)-based drone software corporations Swarmer made a splash on its first day on the U.S. stock market, soaring more than 500%.
On the 17th (local time) at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), Swarmer closed at $31, up 520% from its $5 offer price. At one point intraday, it surged as much as 700% over the offer price, triggering the volatility interruption mechanism (circuit breaker) multiple times. Swarmer's market capitalization swelled from $60 million (about 89.262 billion won) at listing to $380 million (about 565.326 billion won) in a single day.
Based in Austin, Texas, Swarmer is not a drone airframe manufacturer but a software specialist corporations that acts as the "brain" of drones. Its core technology, "Swarmer Brain," allows a single operator to control up to 690 drones simultaneously.
According to documents Swarmer filed with regulators, the technology has been deployed on the Ukrainian battlefield since Apr. 2024 and carried out more than 100,000 live missions. Swarmer Chair Erik Prince said, "Ukraine needs hundreds of thousands of drones, but there is a severe shortage of operators," and emphasized, "When humans set only the target, AI autonomously controls the swarm to strike, and this technology is the core of modern warfare."
This listing drew more attention because Erik Prince, founder of the private security firm "Blackwater" and a former Navy SEAL, is serving as chair. Prince is targeting the market gap created when the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) effectively banned imports of China's DJI drones. According to the Financial Times (FT), Prince holds stock options to buy about 940,000 Swarmer shares at $6.27 per share. These are conditional options exercisable when the customer revenue he brings in reaches $10 million.
What stands out is that figures in the recent U.S. conservative camp are ramping up investments in the drone industry. Drone companies backed by the eldest and second sons of President Donald Trump are in succession preparing for backdoor listings or winning Ministry of National Defense contracts, fueling a push to foster American-made drones centered on Republican networks.
Despite the record share-price surge, concerns about fundamentals persist. Swarmer's 2025 revenue was about $310,000 (about 461.4 million won), down 6% from a year earlier, while its net loss jumped more than fourfold to $8.5 million (about 12.6548 billion won).