From Gaming Origins to High-Stakes Defense: Why XTEND Is the Drone Company to Watch

From Virtual Drones to Battlefield Systems

XTEND's founders cut their teeth in immersive gaming, building VR headsets and gesture controls that made piloting virtual drones feel intuitive. That same software—translating human intent into autonomous action—now powers real-world missions flown by operators with no aviation background. The company emerged from Israel's tech scene, with a team that had already scored a $175 million exit to Intel.

An Operating System, Not Just Hardware

At the heart of XTEND's strategy is XOS, an open platform it describes as Android for robotics. Instead of forcing customers into proprietary drones, XOS can sit atop aerial, ground, or maritime vehicles, letting users download capabilities like license plate recognition or thermal mapping. Over 100 partners build on top of it, a sharp contrast to the hardware lock-in that has long defined Western defense manufacturing.

A Public Listing and a Political Connection

In early 2026, XTEND announced a $1.5 billion merger with Florida-based JFB Construction Holdings, buoyed by a $152 million investment round that included Eric Trump and Unusual Machines. The deal closed on September 4, rebranding the combined entity as XTEND AI Robotics, Inc., now trading on the NYSE under the ticker "XTND." JFB is also constructing XTEND's U.S. manufacturing sites in Tampa, Florida, and Virginia, helping the company meet NDAA compliance requirements while tapping public capital markets.

Building a Domestic Supply Chain

XTEND's ascent mirrors a wider push toward secure, allied-manufactured drone ecosystems. CEO Aviv Shapira estimates that a fully domestic supply chain—down to silicon, magnets, and battery cells—will take two to three years to scale, with U.S.-made drones initially costing roughly triple their Asian counterparts. He contends that demand for trusted, software-defined robotics stretches far beyond defense into law enforcement, search and rescue, infrastructure inspection, and private security.