A defence-focused British artificial intelligence software company chaired by a veteran of City boardrooms has raised a substantial round of funding to fuel its expansion.

Sky News has learnt that Adarga, which helps the Ministry of Defence and national security-focused clients identify threats more effectively by sifting vast amounts of information, has secured £17m from a syndicate of investors.

Sources said that Adarga, which is chaired by the former Royal Mail, London Stock Exchange Group and Sage Group chairman Sir Donald Brydon, had notified shareholders about the fundraising this week.

It was unclear at what valuation the capital had been invested.

The round is said to have been led by Boka Group Holdings, whose founding managing director, John James, runs a New York-listed special purpose acquisition company called Fusion Acquisition Corp II.

Adarga has been compared to Palantir, the US-based technology company, because of its ability to analyse vast quantities of data at speed.

It was founded in 2016 by Rob Bassett Cross, its chief executive.

Sir Donald Brydon chairs Adarga

Three years later, it announced the completion of a £7m Series A funding round led by Allectus Capital, with Moore Strategic Ventures also participating.

"As we navigate one of the most complex geopolitical situations of our time, Adarga's mission could not be more meaningful," Sir Donald said at the time of his appointment just over a year ago.

"The necessity to be able to understand and act on information at the speed required in today's increasingly complex commercial and operating environments is critical to remaining competitive."

Adarga did not respond to an enquiry from Sky News about its funding round on Thursday.