French startup HyLight raises €13 million to expand autonomous airship production

HyLight, a French startup founded in 2022, has raised €13 million to scale up production of its autonomous airships. The company builds lighter-than-air platforms for aerial inspection of infrastructure: high-tension power lines, railway tracks, and pipelines.

According to the company, airships offer long endurance and low speed, so they can inspect infrastructure at a fraction of the cost of a helicopter and without risk to staff, who control the aircraft remotely.

Each airship is 12 meters long, produces little noise, and has no direct carbon emissions. An electric engine with a hydrogen fuel cell powers them, and the targeted range is up to 350 kilometers (217 miles). Sensors include LiDAR, cameras, and methane detectors, and the airships can hover at around 25 meters for detailed inspections.

HyLight has also developed software that analyzes the data collected by the sensors. It can identify up to 50 different types of potential issues on the infrastructure being monitored and give ground operators actionable insights.

Four airships are in operation, mostly in France, and the company has already carried out missions for energy and transportation operators. With the new capital, it plans to expand its team and build at least 11 more airships, aiming to operate 15 simultaneously in 2027. Germany and the Netherlands are the next markets it intends to target.

The funding round was led by Rubio Impact Ventures, DRW, and Teampact Ventures, with existing investors Y Combinator and Ring Capital also participating.