As Chinese manufacturers continue to dominate the global drone market, a Budapest-based startup is making a confident bid to reshape the balance of power in Europe’s favour.
ABZ Innovation, a manufacturer of heavy-duty agricultural and industrial drones, has raised €7 million in fresh funding to scale production, accelerate R&D, and expand into key international markets. The round was led by Vsquared Ventures, with participation from Day One Capital and Assembly Ventures.
Founded in 2021, ABZ Innovation builds high-payload, rugged drones designed for demanding real-world tasks — from crop spraying and fertiliser spreading to industrial cleaning in hazardous environments. Today, its systems are already used by partners in more than 25 countries worldwide.
“Our mission is simple,” said CEO Karoly Ludvigh. “We build drones that take people out of dangerous, repetitive work while helping farmers and industrial operators do more with less. This investment allows us to scale production, deepen R&D, and support a growing global network of partners who turn our technology into revenue-generating services.”
A European alternative in a Chinese-dominated market
The funding comes at a moment of renewed urgency for Europe’s drone ecosystem. While China continues to lead global drone manufacturing, concerns around supply-chain security, data sovereignty, and geopolitical risk are pushing customers and policymakers to seek domestically built alternatives.
ABZ Innovation positions itself squarely in that gap. Its core differentiator is a combination of cost-competitive hardware and a full-stack European autonomy platform — designed to turn drones into reliable automation tools rather than standalone gadgets.
“ABZ Innovation stands out by approaching drones not as individual products, but as an end-to-end automation platform for real industrial and agricultural use cases,” said Thomas Oehl, General Partner at Vsquared Ventures. “The team combines robust hardware with a European autonomy stack and is already proving it can compete globally on performance and cost. That’s exactly what Europe needs to build sovereign drone capabilities at scale.”
Part of a broader funding wave
ABZ Innovation’s raise lands amid a broader surge of investment into Europe’s drone and aerial robotics sector. In recent months, Switzerland’s Voliro secured €19.8 million for autonomous inspection drones, Spain’s Fuvex raised €1.7 million to expand long-range systems, and Germany’s Quantum Systems closed a €160 million round for AI-powered aerial intelligence platforms.
Together, these deals represent roughly €181 million in disclosed funding flowing into European drone companies in 2025. Within that landscape, ABZ’s round highlights growing investor appetite for mid-scale, hardware-focused manufacturers capable of delivering European-made alternatives in critical industries.
From orchards to industrial sites
ABZ’s drones are already addressing concrete operational challenges. In agriculture, spraying and spreading drones enable more precise application of crop protection products and fertilisers, reducing chemical and water use while helping farmers cope with labour shortages — particularly in orchards and other high-value crops.
In industry, the company’s cleaning drones remove people from hazardous environments, such as work at height or on contaminated surfaces, improving safety and reducing downtime.
“We’re excited to partner with the ABZ Innovation team,” said Felix Scheuffelen, co-founder at Assembly Ventures. “As incumbent leaders face mounting restrictions, the opportunity for a new category-defining company in aerial drones is wide open. ABZ’s focus on hardware performance, data security, and supply-chain reliability positions them to lead across European and US markets.”
DeepTech momentum from Central and Eastern Europe
For Day One Capital, the investment also reflects the growing strength of Central and Eastern Europe as a source of globally competitive DeepTech companies.
“The CEE region is producing a growing number of top-tier DeepTech leaders,” said Csaba Kákosi, Managing Partner at Day One Capital. “ABZ Innovation is a perfect example, and we’re delighted to welcome them to our portfolio.”
With fresh capital in hand and demand rising for secure, European-built drone systems, ABZ Innovation is now gearing up for its next phase of growth — and positioning itself as Europe’s leading challenger in the heavy-duty drone segment.
