DefendEye secures major investment led by NovaCapital to scale production of the world's first autonomous AI drone designed for first responders

DefendEye, developer of fully autonomous drone systems, today announced the closing of a major investment round led by NovaCapital. Backed by a premier syndicate of international venture capital and strategic investors, this capital infusion empowers DefendEye to aggressively scale production of its flagship Overwatch Drone, an advanced aerial intelligence system built primarily for first responders.
To accelerate international growth, the funding round features a distinguished group of global backers:
 

• NovaCapital (Italy): Investment holding company backing ambitious entrepreneurs to accelerate growth in B2B companies across Europe and the USA.
   
• ff Venture Capital (Poland): Prominent early-stage venture firm with a Warsaw-based European fund, empowering founders to scale emerging technologies.
   
• Hard2beat (Poland): Specialized early-stage fund focusing on complex, hardware-enabled deep-tech and dual-use technologies.
   
• Sunfish Partners (Germany): Berlin-based early-stage firm backing ambitious deep-tech, space, and defense startups across Central and Eastern Europe.
   
• In-Q-Tel (USA): Independent, not-for-profit strategic investor accelerating the development and delivery of cutting-edge technologies to U.S. national security agencies and allies.

 
"This investment and support will allow us to scale and expand operations," said James Buchheim, CEO of DefendEye. "We are excited to bring to market the world's first AI drone designed from the ground up for First Responders. We manufacture our entire drone and NDAA subcomponents ourselves, including PCB assembly, in our Hallandale Beach, FL facility."
 
When emergencies strike, every second counts. DefendEye is revolutionizing how emergency personnel respond by providing instant, life-saving situational awareness. Unlike traditional drones requiring trained pilots and setup time, DefendEye offers a fully autonomous, pilot-free system that deploys in seconds directly from a rugged, weather-proof tube.
 
Engineered for high-stakes environments, the smart base station features a built-in tactical LTE modem securely connecting the drone to the cloud. This connectivity allows incident commanders, dispatchers, and remote teams to instantly access live video feeds worldwide, ensuring rapid decision-making before personnel arrive on scene.
 
Security and supply chain resilience are central to DefendEye's mission. The company manufactures its hardware at state-of-the-art facilities in Krakow, Poland, and Hallandale Beach, Florida. By maintaining strict end-to-end control over manufacturing and conducting printed circuit board (PCB) assembly entirely in-house, DefendEye ensures full National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) compliance. This offers government and public safety agencies a secure, trusted platform free of foreign supply chain vulnerabilities.
 
With this new financial backing, DefendEye is positioned to become the premier standard in autonomous aerial overwatch for emergency services worldwide, redefining crisis management from the sky.