€9.1m · Pre-Seed · Cybersecurity, Defence · Düsseldorf, Germany
Ground A, a German developer of laser-based counter-drone systems, has raised a €9.1m pre-seed round led by Vsquared Ventures. Quantum Systems, GRIF, Robin Capital, ABACON, Leblon Capital and OVNI Capital participated alongside a group of defence and software operators. The company announced the financing on 8 September after closing it in June.
The startup's first product, the GA 1000, combines radar and other sensors with computer vision, proprietary AI and a high-energy laser. Ground A says the system automatically detects, classifies and tracks small drones while leaving the decision to deploy the laser with a human operator. The product has moved beyond the prototype phase into testing and validation and is approaching market launch, but field performance and commercial deployment have not yet been demonstrated.
Ground A will use the capital to industrialise the system and establish modular series production in Germany. The company, founded in January 2026, has locations in Berlin and Düsseldorf and plans another financing round in 2027 to expand production capacity. Specialist reporting says its team had reached 25 people and was expected to roughly double by year-end.
The product has to turn portability into deployability
The GA 1000's commercial case rests on more than the laser itself. Ground A describes a Euro-pallet footprint, swappable power modules and an open architecture designed to connect with existing air-defence, command-and-control and vehicle systems. That combination is intended to make the product easier to move and integrate than a stand-alone installation, while replacing interceptor ammunition with electricity for each engagement. Those portability, integration and cost claims still have to hold through testing and customer validation.
The investor group may help with that transition. Quantum Systems brings experience building defence hardware and selling into military users, while the round also includes operators from European defence and software companies. Strategic access can shorten introductions and technical feedback loops, but it does not remove procurement requirements or the need to prove reliability under operational conditions.
The next milestone is therefore a production-ready system that can be evaluated inside customers' existing defence stacks. Ground A needs to show that its sensors, targeting software, power modules and laser perform as an integrated unit, then convert validation into orders before scaling manufacturing. The €9.1m round funds that bridge; the planned 2027 raise suggests larger production investment will follow only if testing and market demand justify it.
