Counter-drone protection for military vehicles: Graz start-up Guardaero closes seed round

Guardaero has successfully closed a seed funding round. The defence start-up from Graz is working on counter-drone protection for military vehicles. Angels United GmbH and BKIemen Beteiligungsgesellschaft mbH led the round as lead investors, joined by several renowned business angels. Commercial law firm E+H supported the company throughout the process.

Guardaero focuses on active protection systems for military vehicles, designed specifically to counter drone attacks at short range. Because the modular solutions can be integrated into different platforms, they are also suitable for existing vehicle fleets.

How much capital was raised remains undisclosed – only a low single-digit million amount is mentioned. The money is to go primarily into further developing the technology. The company intends to launch another funding round in the millions in the course of this year.

Short-range counter-drone protection as a mission

Guardaero managing director Lukas Kerschdorfer highlights the strategic importance of the funding:

In Europe, drone threats have long ceased to be a question for the future. Effective protection for our soldiers at short range is still lacking. With this funding, we are responsibly advancing our mission – protecting human lives from drone attacks— Lukas Kerschdorfer, managing director of Guardaero

At E+H, Steve Jeitler, an expert in venture capital and start-ups, and Florian Vidreis led the advice to Guardaero, with additional support from Susanna Falkenburg. Jeitler says:

We are delighted to have advised Guardaero, one of Austria's most promising start-ups, on its seed funding round and wish the entire Guardaero team all the best on its intended growth path— Steve Jeitler, E+H