Elistair, tethered drone company, announces a €5M Series B round to accelerate its International expansion.

Elistair, a market leader in tethered drones, has raised €5M from Omnes and Starquest Capital, its historic investor. This Series B round follows an initial €2M funding round in 2018. Since its creation in 2014, Elistair’s solutions have already been deployed by military forces and national security agencies in over 65 countries.

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ORION 2 is an automated, powerful and highly portable tethered UAS designed for continuous aerial day and night surveillance over large areas. Continuously powered through its kevlar-reinforced micro-tether, ORION 2 is capable of operating for 24 hours continuously at 100 meters (330 feet) height with 2 kg of payload and extended detection ranges up to 10 kilometers (Picture source: Elistair) 

Elistair counts national security and defense organizations amongst its customers, offering them two patented product ranges: an automated tethered drone: Orion 2 and tether stations capable of transforming free-flying drones into tethered drones.

With their ability to detect vehicles more than 6 miles away, The Orion 2 drone acts as an aerial reconnaissance mast, substantially increasing the field of vision of operating forces and reducing vulnerable entry points. Orion 2, provides clear, and live information which is key for border surveillance and protection of perimeters and events. They are also used to deploy tactical communication networks, greatly increasing the range and coverage of military radios.

Thanks to its micro-tether technology, Elistair has solved the problem of a drones limited battery life. When connected to a generator or the electrical grid, the micro-tether powers the drone continuously, allowing it to function for 24 hours without interruption. It also provides secure data transfer between the drone and its operator through the tether. This means that the camera feed cannot be saturated and provides protection against hacking and other interference.

“Our tethered drones let units on the ground expand their field of vision considerably, as well as their understanding of their nearby environment during operations, which is often a critical factor. This funding round will allow us to consolidate our range of products for the national security and defense segment and to handle the significant amount of orders from recent months.” – Guilhem de Marliave, Elistair CEO

The reliability and sturdiness of Elistair’s products have already earned recognition in the US, where the company conducts more than 40% of its business. After opening a subsidiary in Boston, the French start-up will be increasing its production capacity in order to assert its foothold in the American market, while reinforcing its presence in the European market.

“We plan to accelerate the industrialization of our production processes and build up our R&D capacity. Our technological roadmap aims to develop the next generations of tethered drones capable of responding to any and all kinds of situations and conditions. We will also be boosting our solutions’ intelligence and automation.” said Timothée Penet, Elistair CTO

Elistair is launching a campaign to recruit around 20 people for its Lyon and Boston sites. The goal is to retain its initial approach – a combination of technological innovation and knowledge of conditions in the field – thanks to a multidisciplinary R&D team and former defense operatives (from the Royal Air Force, Navy SEALs and the French Navy).

“Elistair is a leading name on the tethered drone market, which is still a relatively new market, but one that is growing quickly. Guilhem and Timothée have demonstrated an impressive execution capacity from the outset, and the company displays a rare level of business maturity after only a few years in operation. This funding will allow the company to shore up its technological leadership, and we are very eager to see the next innovations to be released on the market.” said  Fabien Collangettes, Venture Capital Principal, Omnes.