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NEWS Quantum Systems acquires Spleenlab Quantum Systems, a German manufacturer of surveillance drones, valued at over €3bn, announced the acquisition of Spleenlab, a German company specialising in AI perception systems. I wrote last week about Helsing’s acquisition of Blue Ocean, a developer of underwater drones, and concluded that we are not yet entering a defence tech consolidation period. Not yet. We have seen the war for AI talent play out in the US, with well-funded generative AI companies poaching top researchers from each other. Defence tech, and uncrewed systems in particular, are becoming increasingly AI-enabled and the ability to deliver the best AI on top of novel robotic systems is likely to define the winners and losers in the sector. AI developers are a scarce resource. The acquisition of Spleenlab’s technology and, more importantly, the people that created it, is an indicator of that scarcity in defence tech. As for OpenAI, Meta and Apple, the ability to attract and retain the top AI talent will increasingly become the real moat in defence and national security. Anduril unveils AI-powered soldier headset Speaking of AI, Anduril last week unveiled Eagle Eye, an AI-powered mixed-reality (MR) system designed to be built into soldiers’ helmets. The modular hardware is a “family of systems” according to Anduril’s announcement, including a heads-up display, spatial audio, and radio frequency detection. It can overlay maps and other information during combat. Thus far, the applications of AI in defence have focused on uncrewed systems, while the human soldier has remained relatively un-enhanced by the technology. That is because it is hard to do. Delivering information which is useful and understandable at the speed of relevance in combat is a tall order. Apache pilots have been using helmet-mounted displays for over two decades, so an AI-enhanced version of that could be quite powerful. Equally, Google introduced the Google Glass in 2012 and it did not catch on. General Atomics tests next-gen artillery round In May this year Tiberius Aerospace, a UK-headquartered defence company with roots in Silicon Valley, emerged from stealth with a novel 155mm extended-range artillery munition powered by a liquid-fuel ramjet. Now General Atomics has successfully tested something similar. The humble artillery round is a military technology which has stood the test of time. I suspect a gunner from the First World War would be hard pressed to point out any dramatic updates to it over the last 100 years. But that may be about to change, as defence companies seek to extend the range of existing artillery weapons with a fusion of new technologies. Although the media narrative from Ukraine has focused heavily on drones for the last two years, the importance of regular artillery on the battlefield has not gone away. And recent Ukrainian demands for Tomahawk missiles highlight the continued value of long-range capabilities. This new blend of relatively low cost but greatly increased range and precision has the potential to finally transform a centuries-old capability. FUNDRAISING Space Pioneer, a Chinese developer of space launch systems, raised a $350m Series D. Prisma Photonics, an Israeli company that uses artificial intelligence to monitor critical infrastructure through optical fibre networks, raised a $30m round led by Protego Ventures. Conceal, an American company that enables secure, zero-trust access directly within web browsers, raised a $26m Series B led by Two Bear Capital. Flow Engineering, an American developer of agile hardware engineering, raised a $23m Series A led by Sequoia. MatrixSpace, an American developer of portable radar systems using AI for counter-drone sensing, raised a $20m Series B round co-led by The Raptor Group and OTB Ventures. Hoverfly Technologies, an American developer of tethered drones, raised a $20m Series B led by Leonardo DRS and Korea Robot Manufacturing (KRM). Launchpad, a Scottish/American builder of robots that use artificial intelligence to perform complex assembly manufacturing tasks, raised an $11m Series A round co-led by Lavrock Ventures and Squadra Ventures. LuxQuanta, a Spanish developer of quantum-safe encryption systems using CV-QKD, raised an €8m million Series A round led by Big Sur Ventures.
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