French defense technology company Harmattan AI is climbing almost as fast as its new backer’s supersonic aircraft. The company, founded in 2024, raised $200 million in a Series B round led by Dassault Aviation, best known for building the Rafale fighter jet, and is now valued at $1.4 billion.
Less than two years after it was founded, Harmattan AI, which builds autonomy and mission systems software for defense aircraft, had already received strong validation signals from the French and British ministries of defense. But the funding and accompanying partnership give new wings to the company that once called itself “Europe’s Anduril.”
Like its American peers, Harmattan AI once aimed to overtake defense incumbents, also known as Prime. But the company is now ready to partner with them, even if it means ceasing to call itself the “next generation defense prime.”
According to Harmattan’s latest press release, the current “defense technology company” will help Dassault Aviation shape the future of air combat by developing embedded AI capabilities for the next generation of Rafales and drones, as well as ensuring this implementation is sovereign and scalable.
The use of drones in Ukraine has been a wake-up call for NATO forces and a boost for defense technology startups to help them adapt. Harmattan AI, which recently partnered with Russian drone maker Skyeton, said the funding will help it expand its product offering into new areas and scale up production of platforms for drone interception, electronic warfare and ISR (intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance).
French President Emmanuel Macron praised the announcement on social media, calling it “great news for our strategic autonomy, the technological superiority of our military in the field of AI-powered defense drones, and for our economy.”
Although this strategic play is important for France, it is not exclusive. Harmattan AI’s stated goal of “empowering the militaries of liberal democracies and their allies” leaves room for the company to sell its technology beyond France and Europe. The company is already doing this, expanding its U.S. team with plans to exhibit at the World Defense Show in Riyadh next month.
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In July, just a year after its founding, the company claimed to have achieved a new record by winning a “multi-million USD contract from the NATO government” to deliver small AI-powered drones. But Harmattan AI is now “entering a new phase of scale” with the goal of “strengthening manufacturing,” according to Muad Mughali, the company’s CEO and co-founder.
In the same LinkedIn post, the entrepreneur revealed that the new funding comes on top of the $42 million Harmattan AI has previously raised, including a seed round led by Atlantic and a Series A led by FirstMark, with backers including Motier Ventures and Sisyphus Ventures.
Meanwhile, Martin de Gourcuff, chief technology officer and co-founder of Harmattan AI, opted for a different memo with political overtones. “As the international order is being thrown out of whack, we are entering an era where power increasingly trumps law. This is the reversal of the civilized world we aspire to. Power without law is nothing more than violence, so Harmattan AI exists to protect our values and restore that relationship.”
