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The war in Ukraine has shown that war is changing day by day. It is also clear that the technology used to wage war today is expensive: while major nations can afford legions of tanks, helicopters and precision strike systems, smaller nations find themselves scrambling for cheaper ways to defend themselves.
pedigreeda new defense technology startup from Latvia, specializes in making autonomous, reusable drones that can deliver munitions at a much lower cost than similar solutions. The company already has trade agreements with two NATO countries, although its name has not been revealed for security reasons.
Founded in 2022 by Agris Kipurs and Ilya Nevdah, Origin emerged after the pair spun out Airdog, which made an autonomous drone famously used to record extreme sports. Ultimately, it was Airdog acquired By American smart home solutions developer Alarm.com.
“Airdog was a consumer drone. We were the first in the world to launch an autonomous flight system in 2015,” Kipors (CEO) told TechCrunch. “We founded Origin in March 2022, in response to the invasion of Ukraine. We knew we had to Back to doing what we do best, this time for military applications. We knew the skill set we had as a team was rare, as we had been building autonomous systems for over 10 years.
The startup’s flagship product, BEAK, is an ISR (Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance) drone equipped with precision guidance technology. It has a camera, is capable of flying autonomously, and can withstand intense radio interference. It is also shoulder-mounted, making it well-suited for wars like the one in Ukraine.
These days, many of us are familiar with images of first-person view (FPV) drones carrying grenades and crashing into tanks to blow them up. It is clear that these drones must be replaced.
Rather than detonating itself, BEAK delivers the munitions to the target while remaining intact, meaning it can be reused – so the cost savings can be significant.
“BEAK is a precision guided weapon system,” Kipors explained. “It’s not a drone. Think of it as flying.” Spear. Drones are typically used for reconnaissance applications, not for precision strikes. It’s like a traditional military drone, but small, and the cost of a single strike is about 20 times lower than alternatives.
Kipors believes the BEAK project will appeal to smaller countries: “Latvia and every small democracy around the world are in dire need of the technology community to support this mission. They realize that they can no longer afford war the old way.
Origin recently raised €2.4 million in an early funding round led by Change projects And he saw Silicon rotor projects Investment too. The company also raised €1.6 million in EU grants and support from the Latvian Ministry of Defence, bringing its total funding to €4 million.
Andres K added. Berzins, partner at Change Ventures, said in a statement: “Having known Agris and Ilya for a decade through their successful launch of the world’s leading sports drone Airdog, I knew this team was different from many who set out to learn how to build a drone startup.” Only since the invasion of Ukraine two years ago has their ability to combine this experience with an ambitious vision to reshape the precision weapons market, and their remarkable appeal over the past 18 months, made investing in Origin an easy choice.
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