Harmattan AI raises $200M Series B led by Dassault Aviation, becomes defense unicorn

French defense technology company Harmattan Amnesty International It rises at the same speed as the supersonic jets of its new supporter. Founded in 2024, the company now With a value of $1.4 billion After raising a $200 million Series B funding round led by Dassault Aviation, which is best known for manufacturing the Rafale fighter jet.

Harmattan AI, which builds autonomous control and mission system software for defense aircraft, has received strong verification signals from the French and British Defense Ministries in less than two years of its existence. But this financing and the accompanying partnership will give the company new wings at once He described himself Ace “European Anduril”.

Like its American counterpart, Harmattan AI once aspired to surpass incumbent defense companies, also known as primes. But the company is now also willing to partner with them, even if that no longer means that She calls herself “The next generation defense chief.”

According to Harmattan’s latest press release, the Defense Technology Company will now help Dassault Aviation shape the future of air combat by developing embedded AI capabilities for next generations of Rafale aircraft and drones while ensuring that this implementation is sovereign and scalable.

The use of drones in Ukraine has been a wake-up call for NATO militaries, creating tailwinds for defense technology startups that can help them adapt. According to Harmattan AI, which was published recently a partner With Russian drone maker Skyeton, the funding will help it expand its product offerings into new areas and scale manufacturing of its platforms for drone interception, electronic warfare and ISR (intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance).

French President Emmanuel Macron praised the announcement On social mediaHe called it “excellent news for our strategic independence, for the technological superiority of our armed forces in the field of artificial intelligence-powered defensive drones, and for our economy.”

Despite its importance to France, this strategic game is not exclusive. Harmattan AI’s stated goal of “empowering the armed forces of liberal democracies and their allies” leaves room for maneuver for the company to sell its technology outside France and Europe. The company has already started implementing this: it will do so displays At the World Defense Exhibition in Riyadh next month, it is in the process of expansion Her American team.

The company claimed New record In July when it was Granted A “multi-million dollar contract by the NATO government” to deliver small AI-powered drones, just one year after its founding. But according to its CEO and co-founder, Moaz Maghari, Harmattan AI is now entering a “new phase of scale” in its quest to “ramp up manufacturing.”

At the same time Share LinkedInThe entrepreneur revealed that the new funding comes on top of the $42 million that Harmattan AI has raised to date, including a seed round led by Atlantic and a Series A led by FirstMark, with other backers including Motier Ventures and Sisyphus Ventures.

Meanwhile, breastfeeding company Ai’s CTO and co-founder Martin de Gourcuff to choose A different note with political undertones. “With the international order off track, we are entering an era where force increasingly precedes law,” he wrote. “The opposite of the trend of the civilized world we strive for. Harmattan AI exists to protect our values ​​and turn that relationship backwards, because force without law is just violence.”