Swiss firm Destinus acquires autonomous flight startup Daedalean for $223M

Destinus, a Swiss company specializing in the production of autonomous drones and other advanced aerospace technologies, has agreed to acquire Daedalean, another Switzerland-based firm developing autonomous flight systems. 

The deal, which was first reported by Bloomberg on August 5, 2025, reportedly involved a CHF 180 million (approximately US$223) all cash transaction. Speaking with AeroTime at the Paris Air Show in June 2025, Daedalean’s CEO, Bas Gouverneur confirmed that, at that time, the company had raised around CHF 80 million (nearly US$100 million). 

Headquartered in Zurich and with offices in Riga, Latvia and Phoenix, Arizona, Daedalean is a leader in the application of machine learning technologies to the domain of autonomous flight.  

Daedalean’s technology uses cameras and sensors which allow the aircraft to gain awareness of the surrounding environment and act appropriately, conferring it the ability to act autonomously, even in the absence of a data link to the ground. 

RELATED

‘We are writing history.’ Daedalean CEO on bringing machine learning to aviation 

Destinus, which is based at the Swiss aerospace cluster at Payerne, in the canton of Vaud, started with the goal of developing hypersonic aircraft that could potentially be used for commercial air transport. However, in the last few years the Swiss startup has been reorienting a big part of its activity towards the development of advanced military drones.  

The founder of Destinus is Russian-born entrepreneur Mikhail Kokorich, who has been quite vocal in its opposition to the current Russian government and who has reportedly helped Ukraine boost its drone warfighting capabilities. 

Earlier in 2025, Destinus acquired another European aerospace company, Netherlands-based Aerialtronics, which specializes in the development of multicopter UAV platforms driven by artificial intelligence (AI). 

At the time of that acquisition, Kokorich highlighted that Destinus growing portfolio of drone and autonomous flight solutions aligns with the launch of the ReArm Europe initiative, a €800 billion defense investment plan to boost the defense capabilities of European states. 

AeroTime has reached out to both Destinus and Daedalean for comment. 

The post Swiss firm Destinus acquires autonomous flight startup Daedalean for $223M appeared first on AeroTime.

Go to Source