French counter-drone startup Alta Ares raises €50 million

By Florence Loeve

PARIS, June 8 (Reuters) - Alta Ares, a French startup focusing on counter-drone technology, said on Tuesday it had raised €50 million in its second funding round, helped by surging demand for air defence systems to combat the mass-produced drones playing a decisive role in Russia's war in Ukraine.

Alta Ares completed a €2 million funding round in May 2025 and the funds will be used to expand production, CEO Hadrien Canter told Reuters.

• Alta Ares makes ammunition equipped with AI to intercept and destroy drones, missiles and glide bombs

• Alta Ares aims to develop its activities in Poland, Germany and U.S.

• Alta Ares says its drone interceptors are already deployed in Ukraine, Middle East and Asia

• European and U.S. venture capital firms participated in the raise, Alta Ares says

(Reporting by Florence Loève; Editing by Kevin Liffey)