Most European organisations still rely on drone software from the US or China, which is hosted on servers in those countries. For governments and operators of critical infrastructure, this lack of control is increasingly seen as a bottleneck.
AirHub, a Dutch company based in Valkenburg and founded in 2016 by co-CEOs Thomas Brinkman and Stephan van Vuren, has spent nearly ten years developing an alternative.
Today, the company recently raised €4.4 million in Series A funding to grow its European-made software for drone operation. Keen Venture Partners led the funding round, joined by Runway FBU, which is backed by Norway’s Aker Group, as well as existing investors Lumaux and LUMO Labs.
A single platform for the entire operational lifecycle
AirHub’s main product, the Drone Operations Centre, covers every stage of a drone mission. It helps with pre-flight planning, getting airspace approval, checking the weather, assessing risks, and managing crews. During flights, it offers live video, command oversight, and real-time coordination. Afterwards, it generates automated compliance reports, flight logs, and incident records.
The platform works with various hardware, including DJI controllers and iOS and Android devices. It supports both self-hosted and EU-based cloud setups. Operators can use AirHub’s managed European cloud or install it on their own systems, allowing them to retain full control over their data.
The company now supports live operations for 9 enterprise and government clients, including Dubai Police, Belgian Federal Police, Portuguese Bombeiros, Dutch Customs, ProRail, Securitas, Shell, Boskalis, and Prosegur. For example, Dutch Customs uses it for border surveillance, ProRail for inspecting infrastructure, the Austrian Power Grid for security monitoring, and Shell and Boskalis for offshore work.
The Series A funding supports two new product lines: MilHub, tailored for defence operations, and SecHub, which addresses broader security operations and introduces counter-drone capabilities.
AirHub’s main competitors are Flytbase and Drone sense. However, none of them is based in Europe, uses European cloud services, or is built to meet the compliance and sovereignty needs of European government and defence buyers
What comes next
EU defence spending reached around €343 billion in 2024, or 1.9% of GDP, and is expected to keep growing. Governments and infrastructure operators are now incorporating data sovereignty requirements into their tenders, turning policy ideas into concrete buying decisions.
“As Europe increases its focus on resilience, security and technological autonomy, AirHub is well-positioned to become an important software player in this space. The company has already proven its value in demanding operational environments, and we are excited to support the team in its next stage of growth,” says Giuseppe Lacerenza, Partner at Keen Venture Partners.
