Ground A raises €9.1M ($10.6M) Pre-seed

Vsquared Ventures led the round, with Quantum Systems, GRIF, Robin Capital, ABACON, Leblon Capital and OVNI Capital also in. Individual backers include Quantum Systems' Florian Seibel and Sven Kruck and Arx Robotics' Stefan Roebel. The money closed in June and was disclosed on September 8. Valuation was not published. The company was founded in January 2026 and has sites in Berlin and Düsseldorf. Headcount reportedly grew from five in March to 25 by September. The GA 1000 combines radar, other sensors, computer vision and proprietary AI with a high-energy laser. It tracks and classifies small drones, and a human operator decides when to fire. It fits on a Euro pallet and has moved from prototype into testing and validation. Field performance and commercial deployment have not been shown. Another round is planned for 2027 to expand production, and series production is targeted for the same year. For AI founders, this is a case of applied AI sold as one layer of a hardware product, where the model's value depends on tracking accuracy and speed rather than on a standalone software license. Strategic investors from adjacent defence companies point to a likely route to customers and integration partners. Validation results and procurement decisions will matter more than the size of the round.