XTEND, an Israeli maker of AI-powered autonomous drone and robotics systems, begins trading on the N...
The AMW Read
A known autonomous-drone player triples its valuation to $1.5B and reaches NYSE via reverse merger, an IPO-equivalent capital event within robotics/physical AI.
XTEND, an Israeli maker of AI-powered autonomous drone and robotics systems, begins trading on the New York Stock Exchange this week under ticker XTND at a $1.5 billion valuation, following a reverse merger with previously listed real estate company JFB. XTEND is not raising capital directly from public-market investors; instead it is receiving $100 million from a private investor group, down from an original $152 million target due to existing shareholders' wish to limit dilution. Of that, $42 million has already been transferred as a SAFE, with $60 million more expected shortly. New investors include American Ventures (backed by Eric Trump), Aliya Capital, and Unusual Machines, alongside existing backers Protego, Union Tech, Chartered Group, Len Blavatnik, and TAU Ventures. JFB shares have fallen 36% since the merger was announced in February, even as XTEND's private valuation triples from the $500 million mark set a year ago.
Founded in 2018 by brothers Aviv and Matteo Shapira as a gaming company built on drone-operating-system technology, XTEND pivoted toward physical-world autonomy after incendiary-balloon attacks from Gaza and now positions itself as an operating system for autonomous robots spanning ground and aerial systems. The company has deployed 12,500 systems and holds active defense contracts, but Q1 revenue of just $5.8 million and widening losses show the business remains early relative to its balance-sheet ambitions. The listing route mirrors a broader pattern among Israeli defense-tech firms using reverse mergers to reach public markets quickly, echoing Ondas, whose stock has risen 750% in two years while acquiring Israeli defense assets and recruiting former Mossad chief Dadi Barnea.
For investors, the gap between a $1.5 billion valuation and single-digit-million quarterly revenue signals that autonomous-drone platforms with defense-contract pipelines are being priced on strategic and geopolitical demand rather than current financials — worth watching as more defense-tech startups turn to reverse mergers as a faster, lower-dilution alternative to a conventional IPO.
