INLEAP Photonics secures pre-seed funding for laser-based drone defense

DeepTech INLEAP Photonics emerges from the stealth phase after closing its pre-seed financing round. The round was led by High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF), with participation from Ventis Capital and other private investors.

The capital will be used to scale the already successfully tested laser-based drone defense system INLEAP® FASTLIGHT® SHIELD, which can neutralize airborne threats within fractions of a second. Target markets are defense, authorities and operators of critical infrastructure.

Drones as an acute threat to security and infrastructure

Drones are no longer a niche problem. They are cheap, readily available, flexible to use and increasingly pose a risk to military facilities, industrial plants, energy supplies and public safety. Traditional defense measures are often too slow, imprecise or can only be used to a limited extent in sensitive environments.

This is where INLEAP Photonics comes in with a laser-based defense solution that reacts quickly, is precise and can be used repeatedly.

Industry-proven laser technology as the basis

The technological basis is INLEAP® FASTLIGHT®, an ultra-fast laser beam steering technology that was originally developed for industrial high-speed applications such as additive manufacturing and battery cell production.

The current security situation does not allow for slow solutions. Our system closes the time gap between detection and impact

Dr. Marius Lammers, CEO of INLEAP Photonics

INLEAP® FASTLIGHT® SHIELD is based on this platform: a mobile, laser-based system that neutralizes drones by applying targeted energy to identified weak points. The effect takes place in extremely short time windows, the system is designed for repeated use and can be integrated into existing security architectures.

INLEAP Photonics has successfully developed and tested the first prototype and is now working on operational and performance scaling for real deployment scenarios.

Our laser beam guidance system reaches speeds that conventional systems cannot achieve. The prototype has shown that we can neutralize agile targets within milliseconds.

Dr. Felix Wellmann, CTO of INLEAP Photonics

Investor: Clear growth path in the defense tech market

Laser-based effectors are considered to be one of the most strategically important fields of technology for future drone and air defense. Interest from investors is correspondingly high.

"INLEAP Photonics addresses a highly relevant future field between deep tech and defense," says Dr. Koen Geurts, Senior Investment Manager at HTGF."Only a few companies have mastered this technology at the necessary level. INLEAP's precision and performance are exceptional. The potential to establish itself as a global player is clearly recognizable."

Next steps: scaling and integration

Following the successful demonstration of the core technology, INLEAP Photonics is now working on

• expanding the performance ranges,
• validation in realistic operational environments,
• and integration into existing military and civilian security architectures.

The aim is to quickly transfer the technology into operational systems and provide European customers with sovereign, controllable drone defense.

The startup

INLEAP Photonics is a spin-off of the Laser Zentrum Hannover e. V. The company develops ultra-fast and precise laser beam guidance systems for industrial production and safety-critical applications. The industrially validated technology has resulted in a laser-based solution for controlled, eye-safe drone defense that can also be used in urban and sensitive environments.