The collaboration will focus on enhancing the government's Autonomy-Government Reference Architecture (A-GRA) to support advanced contingency management for next-generation uncrewed and collaborative air systems Merlin, a leading developer of assured, autonomous flight technology for defense customers, today announced the signing of a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) with the United States Air Force (USAF) to advance autonomous capabilities that will improve mission resilience and adaptability in contested and degraded environments. The work will combine operational insight from the USAF with Merlin's expertise in autonomy architecture, human-machine teaming, and adv

Transaction values Merlin at $800 million pre-money and is designed to drive rapid capability delivery for customers as well as bolster strategic acquisition pipeline Over $125 million of capital committed, anchored by Inflection Point fund, existing Merlin investors including Baillie Gifford, and several new institutional investors The transaction positions Merlin to scale critical AI-enabled autonomous flight capabilities while continuing to support national security in a rapidly evolving defense landscape Inflection Point's track record of closing successful SPAC deals includes Intuitive Machines and USA Rare Earth Merlin, a leading developer of assured, autonomous flight te