On February 18, 2024, Ian Laffey posted on X that he and two others hed just met built a low-cost drone at a hackathon that calculated its collaborates just by utilizing its electronic camera and Google Maps.
He and his coworkers, Sacha Lvy and Carl Schoeller, were all engineers under the age of 25.
The tech had clear possible to fight widespread GPS jamming of drones in Ukraine.
Rather of GPS, drone operators there have to utilize state-of-the-art safety glasses to direct their drones by sight.
However that leads to lots of issues, especially under bad conditions like thick fog or at night.At completion of the hackathon, Schoeller wished his 2 teammates well and parted, hoping their courses might cross again.But the tweet went viral and changed their lives.
A day later, the 3 decided to apply to Y Combinator, successfully entering its Spring 2024 cohort.Now, their San Francisco-based company, Theseus, has simply raised $4.3 million in seed funding in a round led by First Round Capital, with extra backing from Y Combinator and Lux Capital, it exclusively told A Technology NewsRoom.Theseus signs up with a flock of other drone-related startups.
Theres Skydio, which focuses on replacing Chinese drones for United States police and was last valued at $2.2 billion in 2023.
Guard AI, which develops reconnaissance drones, just recently raised at a $5.3 billion appraisal.
The biggest defense tech player, Anduril, introduced its own little drone last year, and is reportedly in speak with raise at a $28 billion valuation.A drone at a us unique forces base using theseusImage Credits: TheseusTheseus says it does not build drones, however concentrates on the hardware elements and software application that will enable pretty much any military drone to fly unmanned without GPS.
Schoeller, Theseus CEO, told A Technology NewsRoom the company doesnt construct targeting systems.
Its software application is not choosing whether a certain spot is a legitimate military target or not the sole focus is getting a drone from point A to B.Theseus hasnt won any United States military deals yet, and hasnt been deployed in an actual battleground.
So its using its fresh capital to focus on further building out its tech, employing for three engineering roles.However, the viral hackathon tweet did get Theseus discovered by United States Special Forces, which has entered into an agreement for early testing and development.
Theseus says it recently went to a secret Special Forces base to test out its newest system, sending out A Technology NewsRoom a photo of it in action.Overall, beginning a business with individuals youve known for under a week normally isnt advised, but in Theseus case, it warranted the leap of faith, Schoeller wrote on LinkedIn.