Top 22 Startups developing AI for Drones

Updated: Nov 25, 2025
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These startups develop autopilots for drones that use computer vision and AI to implement various intelligent tasks.
1
Shield AI
Country: USA | Funding: $1.3B
Shield AI works with the Department of Defense, the Department of Homeland Security, and other federal, state, and local departments and agencies to deliver next generation intelligence, reconnaissance, and surveillance systems. Shield AI’s first product, Nova, is a Hivemind-powered drone that searches buildings while simultaneously streaming video and generating maps.
2
Skydio
Country: USA | Funding: $740M
Skydio produces smart drones for security, facility maintenance and defense. Skydio drones help complete even the most dangerous jobs safer, more efficiently and faster thanks to remote half-autonomous control. The Skydio Autonomy operating system sees and solves complex navigation problems in real time. It controls the drone in the most challenging conditions, automatically avoiding obstacles as small as a 1.2-centimeter wire, autonomously plans and executes optimal flight route, taking into account terrain, buildings, geofences, flight rules and airspace regulations. The operator can simply specify the destination. Skydio's main project is "Drone as a Rapid Response" (DFR) for police. When emergency call is received, Skydio X10 drones launch from their docking stations in seconds to respond, track objects, broadcast live streams and provide real-time situational awareness both indoors and outdoors, ensuring the safety of police officers and people nearby.
3
Quantum-Systems
Country: Germany | Funding: $388.4M
Quantum-Systems is innovative developer, designer, and producer of advanced eVTOL UAVs
4
Percepto
Country: Israel | Funding: $139.5M
Percepto offers Fully Autonomous Multi-Mission Drone Solution including computer applications, a base station and a management software.
5
Airobotics
Country: Israel | Funding: $124.7M
Airobotics provides an end-to-end, fully automatic solution for collecting aerial data and gaining invaluable insights. The industrial grade platform is available on-site and on-demand, enabling industrial facilities to access premium aerial data in a faster, safer, more efficient way.
6
Dronamics
Country: UK | Funding: $110.7M
DRONAMICS develops unmanned aerial systems for shipping commercial and special cargo applications.
7
Exyn Technologies
Country: USA | Funding: $60.2M
Exyn is developing fully autonomous aerial robot systems with multi-modal sensing to enable robust performance in commercial environments.
8
Neurala
Country: USA | Funding: $32.1M
Make your products and services more intelligent with The Neurala Brain, a deep learning neural network software that mimics how the human brain works. Neurala is looking to put AI in the hands of toy makers, drone enthusiasts and IoT engineers alike.
9
Nearthlab
Country: South Korea | Funding: $29.2M
Nearthlab is developing deep learning based software solution for autonomous drones to inspect industrial facilities such as wind turbine blades
10
Iris Automation
Country: USA | Funding: $28M
Iris Automation is an artificial intelligence and safety avionics company building collision-avoidance systems for autonomous drones.
11
Lucid Bots
Country: USA | Funding: $15.7M
Lucid builds robotic tools that fit right into your business and make hard jobs look easy.
12
Skyqraft
Country: Sweden | Funding: $10.9M
Skyqraft conducts aerial inspection of power lines through unmanned airplanes and machine learning
13
AgroScout
Country: Israel | Funding: $10.8M
AgroScout system combines data from multiple sensors: drones, external data from weather, satellite, local sensors; machine learning; and deep learning to accurately and autonomously detect, identify, and monitor diseases in the field.
14
Enord
Country: India | Funding: $9.5M
Enord is designing & developing drones that have an AI pilot system for autonomous navigation which is capable of flying even in any confined spaces that will ultimately create ease in operating, generating insights, and taking action that does not rely on GPS.
15
Wonder Robotics
Country: USA | Funding: $4.5M
Wonder Robotics provides robust AI layers for autonomous and safe flights for both commercial and military delivery drones.
16
WARGdrones
Country: Germany | Funding: €1.5M
WARdrones enables soldiers to protect their perimeter against unwanted intruders through AI-led drone perimeter defense.
17
Pagarba Solutions
Country: USA
Artificial Intelligence, Computer Vision & Data Science for maritime, ports, harbors, boating & marinas, underwater drone inspections
18
Cleo Robotics
Country: USA | Funding: $120K
Cleo Robotics is developing a revolutionary new drone technology designed specifically for indoor applications. The company claims to incorporate a combination of stereo vision-based SLAM and neural networks for indoor navigation and obstacle avoidance.
19
Neya Systems
Country: USA | Funding: $40K
Neya Systems is a leading developer of advanced unmanned systems technologies.
20
Indowings
Country: India
Indo wings is a drone and anti-drone manufacturer. It deals with UAV in different fields.
Siddhant Patel
Editor: Siddhant Patel
Siddhant Patel is a senior editor for AI-Startups. He is based out of India and has previously worked at publications including Huffington Post and The Next Web. Siddhant has a special interest in artificial intelligence and has spent a decade covering the rapidly-evolving business and technology of the industry. Siddhant graduated from the Indian Institute of Science (Bengaluru). When he’s not writing, Siddhant is also a developer and has a deep historical knowledge of the computer industry for the past 50 years. You can contact Siddhant at sidpatel(at)ai-startups(dot)pro