About Daedalean
Daedalean is a Transportation, Automotive & Logistics company based in Zurich (Switzerland) founded in 2016 by Luuk Van Dijk and Anna Chernova, and was acquired by Destinus in August 2025. Airborne systems for flight autonomy are developed using AI. It operates in the Transportation, Automotive & Logistics, Technology, and Aerospace, Defense & Maritime sectors. Daedalean has raised $69.84 million across 8 funding rounds from investors including Honeywell, Destinus and European Union. Its chief executive, as recorded, is Luuk Van Dijk. Its focus areas include High Tech, Computer Vision, Industry Specific Applications and Aviation.
Company details
Daedalean was founded in 2016 in Zurich, Switzerland. Airborne systems for flight autonomy are developed within the aerospace sector. Autonomous sensors and autopilot technologies are created to replace human pilots. Navigation and control systems are built through computer vision and machine learning. Operations focus on enabling independent aviation solutions across European and global markets.
- Headquarters Zurich, Switzerland
- Founders Luuk Van Dijk, Anna Chernova
- Stage Acquired
- SectorsTransportation, Automotive & LogisticsTechnology Aerospace, Defense & Maritime
- Email••••••••
- Website daedalean.ai
- Social LinkedIn X YouTube
- Acquired by Destinus (Aug 2025)
Apps and channels of Daedalean
its YouTube channel DaedaleanAI has 10.1K subscribers and 30 videos.
Videos from Daedalean
The most watched videos on Daedalean's YouTube channel, DaedaleanAI (10.1K subscribers). Click a video to play it here.
More on DaedaleanAI.
Funding Insights of Daedalean
Daedalean has successfully raised a total of $69.84M across 8 strategic funding rounds. The most recent funding activity was a Series B round of $57.97 million completed in January 2022. This substantial capital infusion reflects strong investor confidence in the company's business model, growth potential, and market opportunities. The funding enables strategic expansion, product development, market penetration, and operational scaling to drive long-term value creation and competitive advantage.
- Total Funding $69.84M
- Total Rounds 8
- Last Round Series B — $57.97M
- First Round $52,937
(Jan 2017)
- Investors Count 7
All 8 funding rounds of Daedalean with amounts and investors; the two latest post-money valuations are shown, the rest are part of the premium plan.
| Date | Amount | Transaction Name | Valuation | Lead Investors | Investors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 2022 | $57.97M | Series B | – | Honeywell | |
| Oct 2021 | $57,804 | Grant | – | – | |
| Nov 2019 | Series A | – | Honeywell Ventures | – | |
| Nov 2019 | $2.5M | Grant | – | – | |
| Jul 2019 | $11.87M | Series A | – | Carthona Capital | |
| Jan 2018 | $61,968 | Grant | – | – | |
| Sep 2017 | $59,305 | Grant | – | – | – |
| Jan 2017 | $52,937 | Grant | – | – |
8 investors in total: 8 institutional.
Investors in Daedalean
Daedalean has secured backing from 8 investors, including venture fund and institutional investors. Prominent investors backing the company include Honeywell, Destinus and European Union.
| Investor | Description | Founded Year | Domain | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Early-stage tech investments are targeted in US, China, and Europe. | aminocapital.com | Palo Alto, United States | ||
Early-stage investments are directed toward ICT and health tech startups. | redalpine.com | Zurich, Switzerland | ||
US and Australian tech and life sciences are invested in. | carthonacapital.com | Sydney, Australia | ||
Government agency and accelerator focusing on innovative startups and SMEs | eicfund.eu | Brussels, Belgium | ||
| honeywell.com/en-us/company/ventures | ||||
Diversified electronics and automation equipment are manufactured and supplied. | 1885 | honeywell.com | United States | |
Government entites focused on freedom, democracy, equality and the rule of law, promoting peace and stability | 1958 | europa.eu | Brussels, Belgium | |
Drone solutions are provided across subsonic to hypersonic speeds. | 2021 | destinus.com | Payerne, Switzerland |
Investor details for Daedalean
The complete investor list, round-by-round participation and investor portfolios require an active premium plan.
- Complete investor list
- Round participation
- Investor portfolios
- Co-investor network
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People of Daedalean
23 people are tracked at Daedalean (8 in leadership, 7 in board & advisors, 8 in team).
| Name | Role | Group |
|---|---|---|
Luuk Van Dijk | Founder & CEO | Leadership |
Anna Chernova | Co-Founder | Leadership |
Ron K. | Chief Of Staff | Leadership |
Niels Haandbaek | Director Of Engineering | Leadership |
Ramanujam Kalale | Director Of Systems Engineering | Leadership |
Yvonne Gross | VP Of Finance & Operations | Leadership |
Ruben Polak | Director Of Engineering | Leadership |
Jakob Rieckh | Director Of Engineering | Technical Program Management | Leadership |
James Synge | Board Member | Board & advisors |
Reza Madjidi | Advisor, Avionics Certification | Board & advisors |
Thomas Hofmann | Advisor | Board & advisors |
Emmanuel Mogenet | Board Member | Board & advisors |
Pete Hutton | Advisor, Aerospace IC | Board & advisors |
Randy Knaflic | Advisor, HR & Organizational Matters | Board & advisors |
Andrea Schlapbach | Advisor, Commercialization & Market Launch | Board & advisors |
Marc Rauch | Engineer | Team |
Alejandro Martinez de Ilarduya Alcaide | Principal Engineer | Team |
Marc Gantenbein | FPGA And Hardware Engineer | Team |
Mark Travner | Product Manager And Flight Test Engineer | Team |
Manuela Merz | Hr-manager | Team |
3 more people are available in the full profile.
Complete people profiles for Daedalean
Full employee and board profiles, team structure, tenure and professional contact details require an active premium plan.
- Full employee list
- Team structure
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- Professional contacts
Verified entity values are shown only after access is granted.
Timeline of Daedalean
4 dated milestones of Daedalean across 9 years, from founding to its latest funding, stage changes and deals.
- Founded Daedalean is founded.
- Funding First funding round of $53K.
- Funding Latest funding round, Series B, of $58.0M.
- Exit Acquired by Destinus.
Web traffic of Daedalean
The website of Daedalean (daedalean.ai) receives about 8.7K visits a month.
- Monthly visits8.7K
▲ 5.8% vs previous month
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Frequently Asked Questions about Daedalean
Daedalean was founded in 2016 and raised its 1st funding round 1 year after it was founded.
Daedalean is headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland.
Luuk Van Dijk is the CEO of Daedalean, as recorded in our data. They have also founded this company.
Daedalean is a funded company, having raised a total of $69.84M across 8 funding rounds to date. The company's 1st funding round was a Grant of $52.94K, raised on Jan 2017.
Daedalean was founded in 2016 in Zurich, Switzerland. Airborne systems for flight autonomy are developed within the aerospace sector. Autonomous sensors and autopilot technologies are created to replace human pilots. Navigation and control systems are built through computer vision and machine learning. Operations focus on enabling independent aviation solutions across European and global markets.
Daedalean has 8 investors. Key investors include Honeywell, Destinus, European Union, Amino Capital, and Redalpine.
Yes. Daedalean was acquired by Destinus in August 2025.