Kelluu, the Finnish company operating the world’s largest autonomous airship fleet, said it has raised €15 million in Series A funding led by the NATO Innovation Fund.
This follows Kelluu’s successful completion of two phases of NATO’s DIANA (Defence Innovation Accelerator for the North Atlantic) program.
Amsterdam and London-based VC firm Keen Venture Partners also invested in the round, alongside Sweden’s Gungnir Capital and Finnish state-owned investment company Tesi.
With its unmanned airships, Kelluu delivers 24/7 monitoring across vast areas and intelligence gathering with drone-level detail.
“Uninhibited by extreme weather, GPS jamming, high operational costs and regulatory constraints, the Kelluu fleet delivers continuous coverage, data collection, and connectivity across wide and remote areas, enabling earlier threat detection and safer, more efficient operations,” said Kelluu.
“As Europe ramps up defence investing with a focus on closing urgent capability gaps, persistent ISR (Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance) has emerged as a critical area for strengthening NATO’s deterrence posture across the Eastern Flank, maritime approaches, and the High North.
“By combining persistence with high-precision sensing, Kelluu’s autonomous airships fill a critical gap between satellites and drones.
“Existing technologies were designed for a different era: satellites provide broad coverage but lack the resolution required for many operational tasks.
“Drones deliver high-quality data but cannot remain airborne for extended periods and in certain environments, such as icing and strong winds in Arctic or complex airspace over densely populated areas. Ground-based radars are fixed, easy targets.
“Meanwhile, threats are evolving: hybrid operations, GNSS jamming, and electronic warfare are routine along Europe’s borders. Forged in one of the world’s toughest operating environments – on the Finland-Russia stretch and within reach of the Arctic Circle – Kelluu’s near-silent, emission-free hydrogen-lift airships are designed for always-on sensing operations where conventional satellites and drones fail.”
Kelluu CEO Janne Hietala: “We built Kelluu at the edge of Europe, in one of the hardest operating environments outside conflict zones, because we believe that persistent aerial intelligence would become critical infrastructure – not just for defence, but for the resilience of entire countries. That moment has arrived faster than anyone expected.
“Raising this funding crystalises an abundance of opportunities: the investment gives Kelluu a clear runway to further optimise our technology while continuing to scale the company and deliver constant operational excellence.
“The same platform that strengthens NATO’s Eastern Flank protects power grids, detects wildfires, and feeds the world foundation models that will define the next generation of physical AI. That’s not two separate missions – it’s one fleet, one data layer, building resilience across everything it covers.”
NATO Innovation Fund Partner Patrick Schneider-Sikorsky said: “Kelluu offers NATO nations persistent, wide-area monitoring and data gathering in challenging environments. Their platform provides consistent coverage even when GPS is jammed or weather is harsh – at much lower cost than traditional systems – opening up new possibilities for aerial intelligence.
“We are pleased to be backing a company that has built a technology – with support from NATO’s DIANA – that strengthens the Alliance’s deterrence posture, situational awareness, and resilience.”
Giuseppe Lacerenza, Partner at Keen Venture Partners, said: “The gap between what needs to be watched and what existing platforms can actually watch is widening. Satellites revisit too infrequently, lack resolution, or struggle under cloud cover. Drones lack endurance, and fail in extreme cold.
“Manned aircraft are prohibitively expensive to keep persistent. There is no shortage of balloon platforms claiming to fill this void, but none operate where Kelluu operates or under the conditions it has proven itself in. This team was forged on one of Europe’s most exposed borders, backed by leadership that has built and scaled before. It shows in the product and in how the company is run. We are proud to be part of this chapter.”