Paris-based Gallium Defense has emerged from stealth after raising €7.1 million in seed funding to scale its approach to affordable drone detection. The round was led by Keen Venture Partners and 360 Capital, with participation from Omnes Capital and Polytechnique Ventures.
The announcement coincided with European Defence Week 2026, held in Paris from 2 to 6 November. Keen Venture Partners General Partner Alexander Ribbink said the company combined a relevant team, industrial partners and a cost model aimed at making drone detection a standard capability for critical sites.
Founded in April 2026 by Eric Fournier, Florian Lemoine and Robin Mandel, Gallium Defense was created by three professionals with backgrounds in defence, aerospace, industry and consulting. Fournier spent 17 years advising defence and aerospace leaders at Boston Consulting Group. Lemoine has more than 15 years of defence experience and previously advised NATO SACT, while Mandel has held roles at Thales, BCG and Safran over a similar period.
The company says that more than 80% of critical infrastructure sites and military assets remain exposed to modern drone threats because affordable, field-ready radars are not available at sufficient scale. Gallium Defense aims to address this gap with high-performance systems designed for both air security and air defence.
Its flagship product, the GDS-10, is an X-band AESA radar with a software-defined and AI-native architecture. The dual-use system is offered in versions intended for critical infrastructure operators and armed forces. Gallium Defense says it can detect Class 1 and FPV drones at distances of up to 10 kilometres, while providing 360-degree azimuth coverage and 90-degree elevation coverage without blind spots.
The radar is designed to track multiple drones simultaneously, including drones operating in a swarm, during both day and night and in all weather conditions. Its software-defined architecture is intended to allow capabilities to evolve as new threats emerge.
According to CEO and co-founder Fournier, the company developed a rethought AESA architecture using commercial off-the-shelf components and embedded computing to target most operational needs at a lower price. COO and co-founder Mandel said the radars were designed for production and deployment in large numbers rather than as individual units.
Four months after closing its seed round, Gallium Defense carried out its first open-air field trials. The new funding will support the industrialisation of its initial products, team expansion, AI model training and demonstrations for civil and military operators internationally.
The company plans to open orders for the GDS-10 in the first quarter of 2027.
Sources: EU-Startups.