Paris-based Rift, a deeptech company focused on on-demand aerial
intelligence, has raised €4.6 million to advance its technology and roll out
the first on-demand aerial intelligence network, operated from a single remote
command centre in France. The round was led by AlleyCorp, with participation
from OVNI Capital.
A pioneer in autonomous drone-based observation, Rift is
building an aerial intelligence infrastructure designed to protect national
territories, critical infrastructure, and civilian populations.
Growing geopolitical and climate risks are increasing pressure
on critical infrastructure and borders, driving demand for long-range aerial
surveillance. Current solutions are expensive and inefficient: a helicopter
flight hour can exceed €3,000 and requires continuous human presence, which
limits missions and creates blind spots that weaken security and heighten
exposure to threats.
Rift offers an alternative that enables continuous monitoring of
sensitive areas and critical infrastructure at significantly lower cost. Its
“Surveillance-as-a-Service” model turns a traditionally capital-intensive
market into a flexible, zero-CAPEX service, where clients such as ministries,
infrastructure operators, and industrial groups gain instant access to aerial
surveillance capabilities while maintaining full sovereignty over collected
data.
Rift’s platform is designed for operational use cases such as
early wildfire detection, monitoring highway incidents, tracking illegal border
crossings, and overseeing pipelines, power lines, and railways for leaks or
intrusions, giving authorities and operators earlier aerial visibility and
faster coordination across large territories.
Rift’s Co-founder and CEO, Daniel Nef, said that the company is
developing the crucial layer between ground teams and satellites: a remotely
operated network able to rapidly cover critical areas and deliver real-time
situational awareness without requiring personnel on site.
Our ambition is to equip nations and organisations,
starting with Europe, with a scalable aerial intelligence infrastructure that
strengthens public safety, protects critical infrastructure, and reinforces
strategic autonomy.
Rift’s system combines long-endurance VTOL drones, autonomous
deployment stations, and the RiftOS software platform. This approach allows for
the centralisation of piloting at a single site, reducing costs by up to a
factor of ten compared to traditional methods and eliminating the need for 24/7
field teams.
Through its proprietary detection technology and collaboration
with the DGAC and European authorities, Rift is strengthening its regulatory
position and enabling long-range operations and large-scale deployment across
Europe.
Luc Ryan-Schreiber, Principal at AlleyCorp, noted that Rift is
playing an important role in shaping the European aerial intelligence sector by
expanding surveillance capacity while sharply reducing costs.
Rift’s integration of hardware, software, and data into the
same architecture has the opportunity to improve the security of state
infrastructure and bring much-needed technological advancements to the
detection and protection of key assets.
With this funding, Rift will scale production of its autonomous
drone stations using industrial processes tailored for large-volume,
cost-efficient manufacturing.
In parallel, it will advance AI solutions to
fully automate missions by 2027 and expand its surveillance network across
Europe, with a focus on sensitive areas. To support this growth, Rift plans to
double its workforce by 2026 and is already working on pilot projects with
government and industrial partners.