Fundraising Fox
AirSafe.AI
Techstars '24Vila Nova de Gaia, PT · 3 employees on LinkedIn · 1 known investors
Find your way into AirSafe.AI
Sign up to see every warm intro you have to AirSafe.AI
- Paths you didn't know you had: your email and LinkedIn already hold routes to the AirSafe.AI team. We find them for you
- 2nd- and 3rd-degree connections: the friend-of-a-friend routes that take hours to manually find through your inbox or LinkedIn
- Answers now, not in days: momentum is everything in a raise. Skip asking around whether someone knows someone
Days of research, done the moment you sign in, with every route ranked by how warm it is.
AirSafe builds an onboard Detect-And-Avoid (DAA) system for drones that identifies cooperative and non-cooperative air traffic using audio AI, vision AI, ADS-B transponders, and live FPV stream analysis. The system replaces ground-based human observers to enable Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) drone operations and support regulatory authorizations.
Also known as AirSafe · AirSafe AI
Investors · 1
How we know: the Techstars portfolio · open dataset · Top 3000 Accelerator Startups (no YC) 2026-08 · Not right? Tell us
Company profile
researched Sep 2026AirSafe.ai develops an onboard detect-and-avoid (DAA) system for uncrewed aircraft that is intended to replace ground-based human airspace observers and enable beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) drone operations. The company frames the core obstacle to scaling drone operations as the regulatory requirement to station human observers at roughly two-mile intervals, or to deploy fixed ground infrastructure, both of which limit range and raise operating cost. Its system is described as drone-agnostic and designed for attachment to existing drone platforms.
The product combines several detection modalities running on off-the-shelf computing hardware: audio AI that identifies the acoustic signatures of nearby aircraft, vision AI that detects and tracks aircraft in video, ADS-B transponder reception for cooperative traffic, and analysis of the drone's FPV video stream for additional situational awareness. This layered approach is aimed at detecting both cooperative and non-cooperative traffic such as airplanes and helicopters, and the company states the system operates in conditions including rain and fog.
Beyond the hardware and software, AirSafe.ai positions regulatory support as part of its offering, supplying documentation and manuals intended to support SORA/EASA and FAA authorization processes.
Business model
AirSafe.ai sells its detect-and-avoid module on a SaaS basis, priced at an annual subscription of $12,000 per drone. The subscription bundles the off-the-shelf onboard computer and sensors with documentation, support and regulatory manuals, so customers receive both hardware and the compliance material needed for flight authorizations rather than purchasing equipment outright.
Recurring annual software-as-a-service subscription of $12,000 per drone, inclusive of sensors, onboard computer, documentation, support and regulatory manuals.
Traction
Reported traction includes a completed paid pilot with Connect Robotics in Portugal, integration work on two drone models covering delivery and inspection use cases, planned testing and validation for submission to European regulators, and a planned integration with US manufacturer Blueflight to pursue FAA certification. Reported funding totals $120,000, with staffing in the 2-10 employee range.
▸Full profile — market position, technology, go-to-market, geography
Market position
The company operates in the drone, artificial intelligence and defense/military technology markets, and is categorized under air traffic management. As of mid-2025 it was described as being at the prototype-or-product-ready stage with a small team, positioning itself against ground-observer-based compliance and shorter-range onboard detect-and-avoid alternatives.
The company positions its system as providing unlimited operational range, contrasting this with competing detect-and-avoid approaches that it characterizes as offering a one- to twenty-mile radius, and with the two-mile spacing required for human observers. It also emphasizes the use of mixed detection technologies (audio, vision, ADS-B and FPV stream analysis) on off-the-shelf hardware for drone-agnostic integration, all-weather operation, and in-house regulatory expertise described as a "regulator mindset" involving direct engagement with authorities.
Technology
The system runs onboard the drone on off-the-shelf computers and sensors, fusing audio AI for aircraft sound signatures, vision AI for image-recognition-based aircraft detection and tracking, ADS-B receivers for cooperative traffic, and analysis of the drone's live FPV video stream. The multi-layer approach is intended to detect non-cooperative traffic that transponders alone cannot see and to remain reliable in adverse weather.
Go-to-market
AirSafe.ai works directly with drone operators and drone manufacturers, integrating its module into partner aircraft. Reported go-to-market steps include a paid pilot with a Portuguese drone delivery operator, integration into delivery and inspection drone models, testing and validation intended for submission to European regulators, and a planned integration with a US drone manufacturer to open a path to FAA certification. Participation in the Techstars Chicago AI accelerator and the NVIDIA Inception Program is also reported.
Commercial drone operators and drone manufacturers pursuing BVLOS operations, including drone delivery, infrastructure and long-range inspection, security operations and autonomous transportation, as well as airspace managers seeking to integrate uncrewed aircraft into manned airspace.
Geography
The company is associated with Portugal, where it completed a paid pilot with Connect Robotics, and it targets European authorization under SORA/EASA frameworks. It has also planned an integration with a US drone manufacturer as a route toward FAA certification and the US market.
Compiled by commissioned research from 8 cited public sources — announcements, filings, and press listed under research sources below.
Key figures
latest reportedCompany-reported or press-reported figures, each dated to when it was claimed — not independently audited.
Timeline · 4
launches, deals, and filingsA funding news item reported that AirSafe.ai raised $120,000, to be used for R&D on detection algorithms and sensor integration, field testing and certification, and expansion of operations and partnerships.
$120K source ↗
Listed accelerator and program participation: Techstars Chicago AI and the NVIDIA Inception Program.
The company reported closing a paid pilot with Portuguese drone delivery operator Connect Robotics and integrating its technology into two drone models, one for delivery and one for inspection.
The company reported a planned integration with US drone manufacturer Blueflight, intended to support engagement with the FAA toward US market certification.
Dated company events from announcements, filings, and press; legal rows summarize public dockets and regulator releases.
▸Research sources · 8
primary sources listed
- AirSafe.AIairsafe.ai · web
8 public sources were cited for this profile; the first-party ones are listed here.
Frequently asked questions
- What does AirSafe.AI do?
- AirSafe.ai builds an onboard AI detect-and-avoid system that replaces human observers to enable BVLOS drone operations.
- Who are AirSafe.AI's investors?
- AirSafe.AI's investors include Techstars.
- Where is AirSafe.AI headquartered?
- AirSafe.AI is headquartered in Vila Nova de Gaia, PT.