Aurelius Systems, a defense technology company developing low-cost, high-powered laser systems that neutralize drone threats, announced today the close of its $10 million seed round, co-led by General Catalyst and Draper Associates. This funding will enable Aurelius to scale operations and accelerate development of its next-generation laser platform, designed to safeguard critical infrastructure and frontline forces from rapidly evolving UAS threats.

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Aurelius Systems Raises $10 Million to Bring Autonomous Laser Defense to the Battlefield. Co-Led by General Catalyst and Draper Associates. Also investors from, Outlander VC, Squadra, Decisive Point, Alumni Ventures, New Founding, GoAhead Ventures, Detroit Venture Partners, EO Tech & Mana Ventures.

The funding comes at a moment when drone warfare is transforming the global security landscape. Small unmanned aerial systems, particularly Group 1 and Group 2 drones, are being deployed at scale by both militaries and irregular forces. These threats are not just increasing in number but also in intelligence, speed, and lethality. For every thousand-dollar drone in the sky, defenders are often forced to respond with weapons that cost thousands of times more. The economic imbalance is unsustainable, and the tools to meet these threats have not kept pace with the urgency of the battlefield.

Aurelius’ autonomous laser defense system changes that equation. Its fully autonomous, low-cost laser platform identifies, tracks, and eliminates drones in real time. The entire system, including its autonomy stack, advanced optics, and directed energy source, is integrated into a single compact unit. No remote operator. No million-dollar missile. Just a fraction-of-a-dollar cost per shot, delivered with speed, precision, and repeatability.

Aurelius has fielded an overwhelming response from defense leaders, operators, and technologists globally who are in need of new solutions to combat drone warfare. Many of the existing systems for defense were built for yesterday’s threats, with form factors that cannot move, software that is inflexible, and prices that make widespread deployment impossible.

That demand is only accelerating. The U.S. government recently allocated nearly $1.3 billion for counter-UAS systems and established a Joint Interagency Task Force to accelerate deployment of reliable, field-ready solutions. Aurelius is positioned to meet this moment with technology that delivers the speed, cost-efficiency, and adaptability operators now require.

“Michael and John are tackling one of the toughest challenges in defense with speed, ingenuity, and precision,” said Paul Kwan, Managing Director at General Catalyst. “Aurelius is developing the affordable, adaptable defense layer the modern battlefield urgently needs.”

“The nature of warfare has changed with the escalation ladder in both Ukraine and the Middle East, and that is now universally acknowledged to be the mass adoption of one-way loitering munition drones. In any future global conflict, whether in the South China Seas with Taiwan, or in Europe in the frontline NATO countries, we believe Aurelius’s autonomous laser solution will be crucial in keeping America and its allies safe,” said Tyrone Lee, venture partner at Draper Associates.

Since its founding, the company has moved quickly. Early field demonstrations have shown successful engagement and elimination of Group 1 and Group 2 drones in varied conditions. The product is designed to be plug-and-play, making it compatible with both mobile platforms and fixed defensive positions. With this new funding, Aurelius will expand its engineering team, grow in-house manufacturing, and launch testing programs with operational partners across multiple environments.

General Catalyst and Draper Associates bring more than capital to this next phase. They bring strategic support, deep technical insight, and a shared belief that America’s defense industrial base must be rebuilt from the ground up. Both firms view directed energy as a critical future technology, and see Aurelius as the team capable of moving it from the lab to the battlefield.

“It's clear the US and our allies are extremely under-prepared for this new era of drone warfare. We started Aurelius Systems to deliver to the world the first series of mass produced laser weapons systems. Rugged, autonomous and low SWAP is the name of the game for us. When we win we will have provided the answer to drone warfare and delivered the capacity to project force, defend critical infrastructure and lives,” said Michael Laframboise, CEO of Aurelius Systems

The implications of Aurelius’s work go far beyond any single weapon system. At its core, this is a new way of thinking about defense, one that prioritizes speed, affordability, and autonomy to counter today’s threats, not yesterday’s doctrines.

Aurelius’s vision is clear: restore a technological edge to those defending their nations, equip warfighters with tools built for the realities they face, and prove that American industry can still move fast, solve hard problems, and lead on the world stage.

About Aurelius

Aurelius Systems is developing autonomous laser weapons to counter modern drone threats. Based in San Francisco, the company fuses advanced optics, AI-guided tracking, and high-powered directed energy into a compact platform that can eliminate low-cost drones for a fraction of the cost of traditional systems. Aurelius is accelerating the deployment of practical, scalable, and field-ready innovation to restore the technological edge in defense.

Learn more at www.aureliussystems.com

About General Catalyst

General Catalyst is a global investment and transformation company that partners with the world’s most ambitious entrepreneurs to drive resilience and applied AI.

We support founders with a long-term view who challenge the status quo, partnering with them from seed to growth stage and beyond.

With offices in San Francisco, New York City, Boston, Berlin, Bangalore, and London, we have supported the growth of 800+ businesses, including Airbnb, Anduril, Applied Intuition, Commure, Glean, Guild, Gusto, Helsing, Hubspot, Kayak, Livongo, Mistral, Ramp, Samsara, Snap, Stripe, Sword, and Zepto.

For more: www.generalcatalyst.com, @generalcatalyst

About Draper Associates

Draper Associates is a global venture capital firm that backs world-shaping companies. Founded by Tim Draper in 1985, we invest in bold, visionary founders building transformative businesses long before the rest of the world believes in them. We are industry-agnostic and stage-agnostic, and invest in frontier technologies such as AI, robotics, biotech, crypto, space, dual use, deep tech, and more. We believe in taking long odds on extraordinary outcomes and are committed to supporting entrepreneurs who challenge the status quo. HQ’d in Silicon Valley, California, we were early investors in 1,000+ companies such as Robinhood, Coinbase, Tesla, Oklo, Colossal Biosciences, SpaceX, Webflow, and Baidu. To learn more about our work and portfolio, visit www.draper.vc.

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"When we win we will have provided the answer to drone warfare and delivered the capacity to project force, defend critical infrastructure and lives,” said Michael Laframboise, co-founder and CEO of Aurelius Systems