Harmattan AI raises $200M Series B led by Dassault Aviation, becomes defense unicorn

French defense tech company Harmattan AI is rising almost as fast as the supersonic planes of its new backer. Founded in 2024, the company is now valued at $1.4 billion after raising a $200 million Series B round led by Dassault Aviation, which is best known for making the Rafale fighter jet.

Harmattan AI, which builds autonomy and mission-system software for defense aircraft, had already received strong validation signals from the French and British ministries of defense in its less than two years of existence. But this funding and the accompanying partnership will give new wings to a company that once described itself as a “European Anduril.”

Like its American peer, Harmattan AI once aspired to overtake defense incumbents, which are also known as primes. But the company is now also ready to partner with them — even if it means no longer calling itself “a next-generation defense prime.”

According to Harmattan’s latest press release, the now “defense technology company” will help Dassault Aviation shape the future of air combat by developing embedded AI capabilities for its next generations of Rafales and drones while making sure this implementation is both sovereign and scalable.

The use of drones in Ukraine has been a wake-up call for NATO armies, creating tailwinds for defense tech startups that can help them adapt. According to Harmattan AI, which recently partnered with Russian drone maker Skyeton, the funding will help it extend its product offering into new domains and scale manufacturing of its platforms for drone interception, electronic warfare and ISR [Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance].

French president Emmanuel Macron praised the announcement on social media, calling it “excellent news for our strategic autonomy, for the technological superiority of our armed forces in the field of AI-activated defense drones, as well as for our economy.”

While important for France, this strategic play isn’t exclusive. Harmattan AI’s stated goal of “empowering the armed forces of liberal democracies and their allies” leaves some wiggle room for the company to sell its technology beyond France and Europe. The company is already putting this into action: it will exhibit at the World Defense Show in Riyadh next month, and is expanding its U.S. team. 

The company claimed a new record in July when it was awarded a “multi-million-U.S. dollar contract by a NATO government” for the delivery of AI-enabled small drones, just one year after its founding. But according to its CEO and co-founder, Mouad M’Ghari, Harmattan AI is now “entering a new phase of scale” as it seeks to “ramp-up manufacturing.”

In that same LinkedIn post, the entrepreneur disclosed that the new funding comes in addition to the $42 million Harmattan AI had raised to date, including a seed round led by Atlantic and a Series A led by FirstMark, with other backers including Motier Ventures and Sisyphus Ventures.

Meanwhile, Harmattan AI’s CTO and co-founder Martin de Gourcuff chose a different note with political undertones. “As the international order goes off the rails,” he wrote, “we are entering an era where, increasingly, power precedes law. A reversal of the civilized world we strive for. Harmattan AI exists to protect our values and flip that relationship back, as power without law is just mere violence.”