French fighter company Dassault invests $200M in autonomous drone startup Harmattan AI – News

A French startup called Harmattan AI that’s building autonomous drones for European military forces has raised $200 million in Series B funding today. The round was led by the fighter aircraft and business jet manufacturer Dassault Aviation SA, and brings the company’s total amount raised to $242 million at a valuation of $1.4 billion.

Harmattan AI is a developer of low-cost and high-volume autonomous drones and the artificial intelligence software required to pilot them. It’s currently working on three separate products, including a military surveillance drone, a drone that’s designed to intercept weapons, and a training-focused system.

The company, which once described itself as a “European Anduril,” in reference to the U.S. defense technology startup Anduril Industries Inc., has so far secured two contracts with the French and U.K. ministries of defence. In July, it announced that the French military had ordered 1,000 autonomous drones, and a few months later it secured an even bigger win when it said the U.K. government had agreed to acquire 3,000 systems as part of a broader “multi-million programme.”

Much like Anduril, Harmattan AI once held ambitions to disrupt the defense technology industry and perhaps even displace legacy aircraft manufacturers, but it now says it’s ready to partner with them. The company plans to help Dassault, best known for its Rafale fighter jets, develop embedded AI capabilities for the next generation of its aircraft. In addition, it will also work with its new backer on the development of new drone systems.

“Dassault Aviation brings unmatched experience in combat aviation systems and long term system integration,” said Harmattan co-founder and CEO Mouad M’Ghari in a post on LinkedIn. “Harmattan AI brings a strong experience in deploying autonomy and artificial intelligence into flying platforms, with a proven ability to execute military programs and deliver at scale.”

The startup said it’s already building “thousands” of drones each month, and the money from today’s round will enable it to scale up its manufacturing capabilities and potentially expand its technology to new military applications.

The emergence of drone warfare in Ukraine has forced North Atlantic Treaty Organization members to rethink how they wage war and led to a lot of interest in autonomous technologies. Harmattan AI, which has previously collaborated with the Ukrainian drone manufacturer Skyeton, the money from today’s round will enable it to scale up its manufacturing capabilities and expand its technology to new domains such as drone interception, electronic warfare and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance.

The funding announcement got the attention of French President Emmanuel Macron, who hailed the deal as “excellent news for our strategic autonomy, for the technological superiority of our armed forces in the field of AI-activated defense drones, as well as our economy.”

While Macron is clearly appreciative of what Harmattan AI is doing, the startup plans to cater to a much wider audience, with one of its stated goals being to “empower the armed forces of liberal democracies and their allies.” In line with this, the company is planning to exhibit its drone systems at the World Defense Show in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, next month, where senior U.S. military officials will no doubt be in attendance.

Harmattan AI Chief Technology Officer Martin de Gourcuff said in a separate LinkedIn post that there’s a lot of urgency in his company’s work. “As the international order goes off the rails, we are entering an era where, increasingly, power precedes law,” he said. “A reversal of the civilized world we strive for. Harmattan AI exists to protect our values and flip that relationship back, as power without law is just mere violence.”

Image: Dassault