Australian-based defense technology startup Breaker has raised US$6 million in seed funding. The round was led by Bessemer Venture Partners, with additional investment from Main Sequence, which had also led Breaker’s earlier pre-seed round.
Breaker is building AI-powered software that helps military operators control groups of autonomous vehicles using voice commands. These vehicles can operate in the air, on land, and at sea. The goal is to solve a major challenge in defense — how to manage and coordinate multiple autonomous systems efficiently.
Defense technology has progressed faster in the last two years than in the past 30 years. The United States is focusing strongly on defense innovation to protect its national security and maintain global leadership. A recent Executive Order also emphasizes delivering advanced military technology quickly and at large scale.
In January 2026, the Pentagon’s Defense Innovation Unit launched the $100 million Autonomous Orchestrator Challenge to tackle one of the toughest problems in military automation. Today, many in Silicon Valley believe that leadership in AI is closely linked to national security. Breaker’s software works with different types of systems, allowing military teams to control autonomous vehicles across air, land, and sea simply by using their voice.
“Today, autonomy still means one operator controlling one robot, with remote controls or laptops, which fundamentally limits the number of autonomous systems that can be deployed,” says Matthew Buffa, Co-Founder of Breaker.
“In this drone warfare era, the next frontier is orchestration – how to manage and coordinate robotic teams at speed, at scale and under pressure. Breaker’s software changes the operator-to-robot ratio – turning small teams into force multipliers. Robots become genuine teammates that understand and deliver on the mission.”
“With our tech, a single human operator simply talks to the fleet of autonomous systems over the radios they already carry. The onboard AI agent in turn responds with real-time, context-aware responses, translating the operator’s intent into machine action. Allowing operators to stay focused on their mission, whether driving a truck or flying a helicopter.”
Breaker is a defense technology startup based in Sydney, NSW, and Austin, Texas. It builds software that helps turn regular robots into smart, fully autonomous teammates.
Most robots today need constant human control, heavy equipment, and complicated networks, which makes them harder to use in real missions. Breaker was founded by Matthew Buffa, Michael Irwin, and Vanja Videnovic. They wanted to create a better solution — robots that can understand missions, make smart decisions on their own, and work alongside humans like real teammates instead of just simple machines.
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