Shares of Ondas Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: ONDS) surged 5.10% in Thursday's trading session following the company's announcement of a $35 million strategic investment in Performance Drone Works (PDW), a leading manufacturer of combat robotics for the U.S. military. This significant move has sparked investor interest in Ondas' expansion into the defense technology sector.

The investment is aimed at scaling up production at PDW's 90,000 square-foot facility in Huntsville, Alabama, which has the capacity to produce up to 100,000 advanced drone systems annually. Ondas plans to use the funding to increase PDW's engineering staff and procure domestically sourced, NDAA-compliant components. This strategic move is expected to accelerate PDW's growth as a category leader in combat robotics and strengthen Ondas' position in AI-enabled autonomous defense platforms.

In addition to the PDW investment news, Ondas Holdings also held a special shareholder meeting on the same day. During the meeting, stockholders approved an amendment to increase the number of authorized shares of common stock from 400,000,000 to 800,000,000, as well as an amendment to the 2021 Stock Incentive Plan to increase the number of shares authorized for issuance. These approvals provide the company with additional flexibility for future growth and employee incentives, which may have contributed to the positive market reaction.