Agilis Air Raises $1.4 Million to Build Next-Generation Drones and Autonomy Technologies in Ohio

Backers of the Ohio-based developer include AgEagle Aerial Systems (NYSE: UAVS), North Coast Ventures, Vici Capital, Ohio Innovation Fund, and angel investors, including retired Gen. John "Mike" Murray, first commanding general of the U.S. Army Futures Command, who serves as strategic advisor; and Yon Raz-Fridman, Agilis Air's co-founder and executive chairman. The company's Remora drone is now available for direct purchase by military units, and Agilis is competing in upcoming phases of the Department of War's $1.1 billion Drone Dominance Program.

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio, Sept. 14, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Agilis Air Inc., a developer and manufacturer of low-cost, American-made drones and autonomy technologies, today announced $1.4 million in early funding and its acceptance to the U.S. Army's new UAS Marketplace, where its Remora drone is live and available for direct purchase by Army units and U.S. government entities and allies. The round includes AgEagle Aerial Systems (NYSE: UAVS), North Coast Ventures, Vici Capital (family office of Kevin Stein, retired CEO of the Ohio Innovation Fund) and angel investors.

Agilis builds the Remora ARQ, a Group 1 first-person-view aircraft for reconnaissance and tactical missions that costs $1,250 per unit, a fraction of the average industry range, ships three weeks from order, and is produced in Ohio with a 100% U.S., NDAA-compliant supply chain.

The company is announcing itself at a moment when the Pentagon has made small drones a national priority. The Department of War's Drone Dominance Program is directing $1.1 billion toward fielding hundreds of thousands of American-made small drones, and the Army's UAS Marketplace, launched in March and described by Army leaders as an "Amazon for the soldier," lets units buy approved systems directly for the first time. Agilis entered the Marketplace's Cleared tier, its highest onboarding phase, on the strength of its established NDAA compliance, and is positioning to compete in upcoming phases of the Drone Dominance Program, where its unit cost sits well below the program's $2,300 affordability target.

"America invented flight in Ohio, and Ohio is where America's drone industrial base should be rebuilt," said Yon Raz-Fridman, co-founder and executive chairman of Agilis Air. "The next generation of deterrence belongs to whoever can field capable autonomous aircraft at the price of ammunition—thousands of them, built here, not imported. We're building that company from Northeast Ohio, on top of the 4,000 aerospace suppliers and 120,000 aerospace workers this state already has."

Agilis was co-founded by CEO Shawn Theiss, an unmanned aerial vehicle(UAV) pioneering designer and UAV engineer with over 40 years in aviation who has spent three decades building custom drone systems for U.S. defense customers—more than 40 federal contracts delivered and over 600+ specialized drones fielded—and Raz-Fridman, a serial founder who has built and scaled venture-backed software and hardware companies for 15 years, with one company acquired in 2025.

"I've spent nearly 30 years building drones for defense customers and learning what works in the field," said Theiss. "Remora is the result—a rugged, affordable $1,250 platform that's intuitive to fly, rapidly repairable, and engineered to deliver dependable performance when it matters most."

"Supporting companies pushing the boundaries of American drone technology is core to our mission, and Agilis is exactly that," said Bill Irby, CEO of EagleNXT. "Their low-cost, American-made quadcopters are the natural complement to our Group 1 fixed-wing systems—together they give defense customers a full multi-domain unmanned capability, from long-endurance ISR to affordable, attritable tactical aircraft. Shawn and Yon are building the manufacturing engine this moment demands, and we're proud to back them as they go live on the Army's UAS Marketplace."

Beyond the airframe, Agilis is developing onboard autonomy for GPS-denied environments and an intelligence software stack designed to plug into the Army's networked unmanned-systems ecosystem— positioning the company as a drone developer and autonomy company rather than a hardware vendor alone.

"The Pentagon has been clear about what it needs: affordable, attritable drones made in America, at scale," said Todd Federman, Managing Director of North Coast Ventures. "Agilis is one of the few teams with the cost structure and manufacturing depth to pull that off, and they're doing it in Northeast Ohio, where the aerospace workforce and supply chain already exist. We think that combination is hard to beat."

The funding will support production ramp of the Remora platform at the company's Youngstown facility, completion of certifications, and delivery against the company's Army pipeline. Agilis' early development was supported by the Youngstown Business Incubator's ENGINE tech incubator and the Youngstown Innovation Hub for Aerospace & Defense.

About Agilis Air Inc.

Agilis Air is an Ohio-based defense technology company building low-cost, modular, NDAA-compliant unmanned systems developed and manufactured entirely in the United States on a 100% domestic supply chain. Agilis designs affordable, attritable systems for the modern battlefield, led by its Remora platform, a low-cost quadcopter built for ISR and tactical missions. The company was co-founded by CEO Shawn Theiss, who delivered more than 40 U.S. Department of Defense programs over three decades through his prior company, Theiss UAV Solutions, and Executive Chairman Yon Raz-Fridman, a serial tech entrepreneur. Agilis is building American manufacturing capacity in Northeast Ohio for the next generation of unmanned systems. https://agilisair.com/ 

About Team Yon LLC

Team Yon LLC is a privately held holding firm founded and owned by Yon Raz-Fridman. The firm incubates new ventures and makes strategic investments. Through Team Yon LLC, Raz-Fridman co-founded Agilis Air Inc. where he serves as Executive Chairman. https://teamyon.org/ 

Editor's note: Founders Yon Raz-Fridman and Shawn Theiss are available for interviews, and the company can host facility visits and flight demonstrations in Youngstown. High-resolution images of the Remora platform, founder headshots, and b-roll are available on request.

Media contact: [email protected]

SOURCE Agilis Air