Ukrainian company draws investment to speed up AI development for drones
Ukraine's defence technology company The Fourth Law (TFL), founded by entrepreneur Yaroslav Azhniuk and headquartered in Kyiv, has raised a new round of investment.
Source: TFL
Details: The funding comes from Axon, the US public safety technology group. TFL said it will use the investment to accelerate development of artificial intelligence for drones in Ukraine.
Quote from Yaroslav Azhniuk: "...The funding will be directed towards R&D on new autonomy capabilities needed to protect cities and critical infrastructure from attacks by Shahed-type drones."
More details: Rick Smith, CEO of Axon Enterprise, Inc, said Ukraine is developing drone technology at a pace out of reach for most countries.
Quote from Rick Smith: "Teams like The Fourth Law are building autonomy in real combat conditions, where systems are created, tested and improved in real time. We are investing because the world can learn how drones are developed and used in Ukraine."
More details: TFL is an AI and robotics company that develops solutions for defence and public safety. Its flagship products, the Lupynis-10-TFL-1 UAV and the TFL-1 autonomy module, are used by more than 50 Ukrainian military units across different frontline sections. The company said that its first-level autonomy boosts FPV drone mission success rates by a factor of two to four while increasing unit cost by only 10%.
The company's most recently launched product is TFL-AntiShahed, a module for interceptor drones that uses on-the-edge AI to detect and highlight strike drones such as the Iranian-made Shahed and Russian-made Geran faster than a human eye can.
The manufacturer said that the system autonomously identifies UAVs on thermal imagery, analysing an object's movement, heat signature and other parameters using AI.
TFL's autonomy technology is designed for integration across different platforms. In addition to its own Lupynis-10, the company's AI modules have been integrated by other drone manufacturers.
Background: Last July, TFL announced its first round of funding from a group of venture capital funds and angel investors from the EU, the US and Canada. Back then, the company publicly disclosed its products for the first time.
Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon!