Askari Defense

Moving quickly means protecting our engineers’ time. Robbie van Zyl (@rob_zedd), CEO and co-founder of @AskariDefense, explains in this Bloomberg article how we use AI to accelerate the back office, reduce operational clutter, and keep our engineering team focused on what matters most: building. bloomberg.com/news/features/…

Happy Fourth of July from Askari Defense. Independence is more than a moment in history - independence is a responsibility carried forward by every generation willing to protect what matters. Today, Askari Defense honors the country, the people who serve it, and the quiet work required to keep freedom secure. #UnitedStatesofAmerica

Today, we’re excited to share that @AskariDefense has raised a $9M seed round led by @BuildersVC to accelerate our work building hand-launched, autonomous interceptors for the operators closest to the fight. Our focus is simple: give dismounted teams a lightweight, kinetic, fire-and-forget capability against hostile drones without waiting on a vehicle, a fixed site, or a perfect RF environment. We’ve already secured major contracts, delivered systems to demanding government customers, and proven that small teams can move fast in one of the most urgent defense categories in the world. The future of counter-UAS is not just bigger systems. It’s smaller, faster, more autonomous, and carried by the people who need it most. We’re grateful to @BuildersVC for leading the round, with participation from @SovereignsCap, @swellvc, Rule 1 Ventures, WaterStone Impact Fund, and a syndicate of defense leaders including @dominocielo, @DanMagy, @naweed, James Kubik, and others. We’re also grateful to the early believers who followed on and doubled down on Askari’s mission: @BlackwingVC, @KnollVentures, @OverlineVC, Georgia Tech Foundation, and Teamworthy Ventures. Back to work. #AskariDefense #CounterUAS #SeedRound

If the demand signal was not clear enough, U.S. Northern Command (@USNorthernCmd) just identified the missing layer in counter-UAS: protection that moves with the individual. Fixed-site and point defense systems matter, but they do not solve the problem once a patrol dismounts and moves beyond fixed coverage. Gen. Gregory Guillot put it plainly: there is “not really anything that would follow a patrolling soldier.” Askari is building that missing layer: man-packable, fire-and-forget kinetic interceptors that move with the operator. Threats move. Our defenders move. Counter-drone systems need to move too. #AskariDefense #CounterUAS #BorderSecurity defensescoop.com/2026/05/20/lac…

@BlackFlagVC Let's go!

500+ founders. 1,500+ nominations. 100 companies. The Black Flag 100 is back 🏴‍☠️ No VC votes. No fund picks. Just pirates chasing storms over certainty. The 2026 list 🧵🏴‍☠️

Askari Defense was selected for this year’s Black Flag 100. Out of over 1,500 nominated companies, only 100 made the final list. Our mission is simple: build practical, operator-focused defense technology for a battlefield that is changing by the day. Cheap aerial threats are no longer edge cases. They are a defining feature of modern conflict. Askari is building for that reality. Grateful to the founders who put our name forward, and to Black Flag for highlighting teams working on hard, consequential problems. See the full list: blackflag.vc/100-2 #AskariDefense #CounterUAS

Anybody can build manually piloted FPV interceptors. Askari is different. We’re building fully autonomous, fire-and-forget interceptors designed to reduce operator burden and reliably engage targets in real-world conditions. Below is onboard footage from recent Rift Alpha testing. This autonomy gap is where the real differentiation exists. #AskariDefense #CounterUAS

Askari has been selected as a semifinalist in the xTech|Adaptive Strike competition. We’re heading to the National Training Center to participate in the Soldier Exercise, where our interceptors will be put into a realistic training environment alongside the operators they’re built for. Our focus is not on complexity, but on capability that delivers when it counts. We’re building a dismounted counter-UAS solution that is quick to employ, intuitive to use, and effective against small UAS threats in close-range scenarios. We appreciate the opportunity to work with the U.S. Army, ASA(ALT), and others pushing practical capabilities forward. Looking forward to the next phase. #AskariDefense #CounterUAS #ArmyFUZE #xTech #ArmyPIT #ArmyInnovation

Over the past six months, Askari Defense has achieved several meaningful design breakthroughs through rapid iteration and close attention to real end-user needs. Askari is pleased to announce that it is supporting a funded, limited-scope evaluation and training effort for a U.S. government customer under contract and looks forward to incorporating forthcoming user feedback into future iterations of the system. #AskariDefense #CounterUAS #Defense #NationalSecurity

Rift Alpha during target practice testing. In a space where claims, slick sheets, and designs are easy to produce, Askari focuses on proving performance in the real world. This testing uses surrogate targets to validate core system behavior, identify edge cases, and rapidly iterate toward reliable, fieldable capability. As low-cost drones continue to reshape the threat environment, demand for scalable, attritable interceptors is accelerating across defense and security sectors. The challenge now isn’t just building interceptors. It’s building ones that can be produced and fielded at scale. #AskariDefense #CounterUAS #Defense #NationalSecurity

Rift Alpha is Askari’s hand-launched, fire-and-forget interceptor, purpose-built for counter-UAS. Designed for attrition and immediate use in the field. #AskariDefense

Counter-UAS shouldn’t require a bulky system. It should fit the operator. Introducing Rift Bravo, a fire-and-forget capability at the individual level. #AskariDefense

Last year, Askari Defense supported a funded Department of Homeland Security Science & Technology Directorate (DHS S&T) R&D effort. The effort has concluded, and the team is excited to pursue future work focused on transitioning capable systems into the hands of operators who need them. #AskariDefense #CounterUAS

Daily Hard Tech Headlines: - Hybron secured a $25M seed round. The El Segundo startup develops next-generation composite manufacturing, enabling 100x faster production at a fraction of the cost of traditional methods. Marque Ventures led the round. - @AskariDefense, the Atlanta-based C-UAS startup, has raised a $1.7M pre-seed round. The startup has developed products such as a man-portable, 3D-printed drone interceptor and a hand-launched, foldable, man-packable interceptor, the first targeting Group 1 and 2 drones and the second targeting Group 1. Investors include @KnollVentures, @BrickyardVC, @BlackwingVC, Georgia Tech Foundation, Inc., @glangley, @OverlineVC, and Teamworthy Ventures. - U.S. Department of Agriculture is deploying a nationwide initiative to test and validate AgTech in real-world farm and ranch environments across the United States. - @MarianaMinerals has partnered with @ProntoAI to deploy autonomous hauling capabilities at its copper mine and refinery in Utah. - GE Vernova and Hitachi are deploying up to $40B to develop small modular reactors across Tennessee and Alabama through their joint venture, GE Vernova Hitachi Nuclear Energy. - @FoundryRobotics has raised a $19M seed round. The San Francisco startup is building robotic systems for manufacturing assembly. Investors include Khosla Ventures, Hanabi Capital, Red Glass Ventures, and Zero Shot Fund. - Project Caprock has broken ground. The 540 MW data center in Lubbock, Texas is being developed by Aligned Data Centers. - Rain Technology Solutions completed a live exercise to test its battlefield medical data platform, tracking critical health metrics across tactical networks for operational readiness, with goTenna enabling mesh communications, Iridium enabling satellite connectivity to the SIF TAK server, and sensors from Samsung Electronics, NIRSense Inc, and Mayo Clinic providing real-time physiological data (pictured below).

Askari has been building with the backing of a $1.7M pre-seed round. This early support has enabled rapid development, testing, and the foundation for what comes next. We’re grateful for the partners who believed early, including @KnollVentures, @BrickyardVC, @BlackwingVC, Georgia Tech Foundation, Inc., @glangley, @OverlineVC, and Teamworthy Ventures. Now we’re stepping forward and moving faster. #AskariDefense

⚡️ @AskariDefense has officially emerged from stealth! Founded by Robbie van Zyl, Benjamin Airdo, and Marc van Zyl, the startup is building decentralized systems designed to counter autonomous machines, starting with drones. Their approach focuses on portability, onboard intelligence, and tools built for operators at the edge. After participating in the @georgiatech @gtcreatex program, the team relocated to Atlanta and now operates out of the Biltmore Innovation Center, positioning themselves within the broader Tech Square ecosystem and closer to both talent and end users. As Askari moves into its next phase, the company is bringing its systems out of stealth and into real-world testing, with an emphasis on usability, cost, and deployment in the field. Read more 👉 buff.ly/yK4lZuf

The age of autonomous threats has arrived, and you're going to need Askari. #AskariDefense

Keeping humanity in command of its future by making every robot a bad investment. #AskariDefense

RT @rob_zedd: Today we revealed to the world more about what we have been quietly building at @AskariDefense. Go check out the new website:…