Defence: France gets its first unicorn

Founded in 2024, Harmattan AI is set to become the first French unicorn in the defence sector. The announcement was made on 12 January, with a 200 million dollar fundraising round allowing the French start-up to cross a major milestone in the history of French defence. The funding round, which now values Harmattan AI at 1.4 billion dollars, was supported by aircraft manufacturer Dassault Aviation.

Through this alliance, Harmattan AI and Dassault Aviation are signing a strategic partnership aimed at accelerating the integration of artificial intelligence and controlled autonomy within air combat systems. "Dassault Aviation''s trust accelerates our mission: providing sovereign and scalable AI to allied forces. By combining cutting-edge AI with world-class expertise in combat aviation, we are shaping the future of collaborative air combat", said Mouad M''Ghari, co-founder and CEO of Harmattan AI.

In a global security context in the midst of transformation, this partnership between the aircraft manufacturer and the start-up redefines the future of French air combat and grants the French army "strategic autonomy for technological superiority in AI-enabled defence drones", Emmanuel Macron welcomed on X.