Rift, a French DeepTech company specialising in on-demand aerial intelligence, announces a funding round of €4.6 million to accelerate the deployment of the first European on-demand aerial intelligence network, entirely operated from the company’s headquarters in the Paris region.
The round included €3 million in equity from AlleyCorp and OVNI Capital, supplemented by €1.6 million in public funding via the France 2030 programme and Bpifrance.
“Rift is building the missing link between satellites and ground teams: an aerial intelligence network capable of performing reconnaissance missions in minutes, without a pilot on site, providing real-time decision aid,” said Daniel Nef, co-founder and CEO of Rift . “Our ambition is to equip Europe with a sovereign and resilient aerial intelligence infrastructure, dedicated to public safety and critical infrastructure.”
In 2025, several similar European startups active in aerial intelligence and adjacent autonomous-drone technologies secured notable funding rounds, including Quantum Systems in Germany with €160 million to scale its autonomous aerial-intelligence systems, Voliro in Switzerland with a Series A extension totalling €19.8 million for its aerial-robotics inspection platform, Poland’s Orbotix with €6.5 million to advance AI-driven defence drones, and Monopulse, which received €1.12 million to expand its NATO-grade UAV capabilities.
Together, these rounds amount to roughly €187 million flowing into the sector.
Against this backdrop, Rift’s €4.6 million raise contributes to a broader continental push toward sovereign aerial-intelligence and autonomous-drone infrastructure. Although none of the identified peers are France-based, the scale of capital entering the wider ecosystem underscores the relevance of Rift’s focus on integrated, on-demand aerial-intelligence networks within Europe’s evolving technological and security landscape.
Founded in 2023 by Daniel Nef and Dorian Millière, formerly of OpenClassrooms, Rift develops an on-demand aerial intelligence network. Combining internally designed long-endurance VTOL drones, autonomous deployment stations, and the proprietary software platform RiftOS, Rift offers a “Surveillance-as-a-Service” model.
The company aims to equip Europe with a sovereign aerial intelligence infrastructure, dedicated to the security of territories, populations, and critical infrastructure.
Current solutions are costly and inefficient: according to figures provided by the company one hour of helicopter flight can cost more than €3k and requires pilots and other support services on permanent stand-by.
As a result, operators are forced to space critical missions out, creating blind spots that increase long-term risks.
Rift’s integrated technology combines long-endurance VTOL (Vertical Take Off and Landing) drones, autonomous deployment stations, and the RiftOS software platform. This approach allows for the centralisation of piloting at a single site, allegedly offering costs ten times lower than traditional methods and eliminating the need for 24/7 field teams.
“Rift is taking a key step in structuring the European aerial intelligence market. By integrating hardware, software, and data into the same architecture, the company multiplies surveillance capabilities while significantly lowering costs and operational complexity,” stressed Luc Ryan, Partner at OVNI Capital. “This integrated approach, based on cutting-edge engineering, positions Rift as a strategic player in technological sovereignty and the security of state infrastructure.”
Rift will use the finding to accelerate the production of its autonomous drone stations, based on innovative manufacturing processes for large-scale, low-cost production. Each shipping-container-sized station houses multiple drones that operate in continuous relay, ensuring 24/7 aerial coverage.
In parallel, Rift is accelerating the development of its analysis algorithms to automate the entire mission cycle by 2027: planning, execution, anomaly detection, and reporting, without human intervention.
Its reconnaissance technology is aimed at opening European skies to autonomous operations and facilitate the deployment of a drone fleet, notably for border surveillance and critical site protection, two markets where reactivity, service continuity, and cost control have become strategic imperatives.
In the medium term, Rift is preparing the deployment of its network on a European scale, prioritising sensitive zones where intrusions, sabotage, and threats demand increased vigilance.
Driven by a rapidly growing global drone market, the company is strengthening its industrial capacity and plans to double its workforce by the end of 2026, with key recruitments in R&D, data, certification, and production. Rift is already collaborating on pilot projects related to maritime and terrestrial surveillance with states and industrial partners.
Read the orginal article: https://www.eu-startups.com/2025/11/paris-rift-raises-e4-6-million-to-build-europes-first-on-demand-aerial-reconnaissance-network/
