Drones with Edge AI: The Future of Warfare?
Late last year, Ukraine-based Swarmer secured $2.7 million to develop AI software that can control a swarm of reconnaissance and strike drones. Launched in July 2023, the defense-tech startup trialed its technology in Ukraine and has deployed it on the battlefield. Thus far, about 10 drones have been networked to form a swarm, but with the latest seed funds—coming from U.S. defense vendor R-G.AI and several other defense, aerospace, and AI investors—Swarmer intends to scale drone autonomy and operations. Future deployments could see swarms of 100 devices or more.
“The technology isn’t about having, say, 25 drones just flying around; it’s about having a group of autonomous drones, and if one gets shot, the rest immediately react, regroup, and strike [the target] from different sides—without the need for manual control or multiple operators,” said Swarmer CEO Serhii Kupriienko, a Stanford University graduate and former AI leader at Ukraine IT consultancy Squad. “I really believe drone swarming is the next big thing, or not even the next—it’s the current big thing.”