Belgian-American startup Aidoptation has secured €20 million in additional financing to accelerate the development and industrialisation of advanced AI-driven autonomous systems.
The round included €10 million from SFPIM, €5 million from John Cockerill Defence, and €2.5 million each from Ethias Ventures and Belfius Bank & Insurance.
“What started on the racetrack is now scaling into environments where performance under extreme conditions truly matters. With growing demand from governments and industry, this round allows us to move faster, test harder, and expand the reach of our technology,” the company mentioned in its LinkedIn post.
Founded in 2025, Aidoptation is the commercial spin-off from the Indy Autonomous Challenge IAC), an American competition where AI-driven robotic cars race at high speeds on iconic circuits. The company is headquartered at DronePort in Sint-Truiden, Belgium. DronePort is a 30-hectare airport business park and test centre for carbon-free and autonomous mobility.
Aidoptation develops autonomous driving technology for dual-use applications in commercial automotive, police and first-responder vehicles, and defence-relevant environments. Its core product, EdgeDrive, is designed for high-speed autonomous driving and has reached Technology Readiness Level 6 to 7 for passenger vehicles capable of highway-speed autonomy above 90 km/h.”
The fresh capital will be used to support R&D in AI-driven autonomous systems, the industrialisation and scaling of validated technologies such as EdgeDrive, and the development of strategic industrial and defence partnerships in Europe, the US, and Asia.
“From an economic perspective, the investment anchors high-value R&D and industrial capacity in Belgium, supports innovation-led productivity, and uses public capital to crowd in private and strategic investment while preserving governance control. From a defence and security standpoint, it strengthens NATO-aligned innovation, reduces dependency risks in critical autonomous technologies, and reinforces the Belgian and European defence-industrial base through trusted transatlantic cooperation,” DronePort mentioned in a press release.
The company raised a €5 million Seed funding round in February this year, supported by the Limburg investment company LRM and Ethias Ventures, the investment arm of insurer Ethias.
Read the orginal article: https://www.eu-startups.com/2025/12/belgian-american-startup-aidoptation-secures-e20-million-to-scale-autonomous-driving-from-racetrack-to-real-world-mobility-and-defence/
