DroneTector

DroneTector

Technology to detect and track hostile drones

Winter 2026ActiveIndustrialsDronesHard TechDronesRadar
We make radars that can see small drones. As drones evolve faster than air defenses, detection has fallen behind. Even $50 drones now present a major threat to airports, critical infrastructure, and front-line defense. We solve this by building high-frequency radar systems, designed from the ground up to detect even the most challenging low-signature targets. This allows us to identify and track nano drones like no other solution, letting you know what's truly in your airspace.

Verdict

High Signal
Market Opportunity
Counter-drone/C-UAS market is projected $3-5B+ and growing rapidly driven by Ukraine conflict learnings, airport incursions, and critical infrastructure threats. ICPs are clear: airports, defense/military, critical infrastructure operators. B2G and B2B enterprise sales with high contract values. Urgency is real — $50 consumer drones are actively disrupting airports and frontlines.
High Signal
Founder Signal
Matthew Moore did his entire PhD (St Andrews, 2020-2024) specifically on millimetre-wave radar for drone detection — this is direct domain expertise translated into the product. Thomas Doherty has an Oxford DPhil in Atomic & Laser Physics plus postdoc work and a prior co-founding attempt (Quantum Fabrix). Both are Royal Academy of Engineering Enterprise Fellows. Third founder Jordina Frances de Mas has a PhD in CS (Automated Reasoning). This is an unusually deep technical founding team for the specific problem.
Medium Signal
Competition
Established players include Dedrone, DroneShield (ASX-listed, revenue-generating), Fortem Technologies, Robin Radar, and Echodyne. However, DroneTector's claimed differentiation is high-frequency radar specifically designed for nano/micro drones — a real gap where incumbents underperform. The hardware/physics moat is credible given Matthew Moore's PhD focus. That said, DroneShield is well-funded and growing fast; differentiation must be demonstrated, not just claimed.
Low Signal
Product
Website is essentially a landing page with tagline, three vertical icons (Airports, Critical Infrastructure, Defense), and a 'Request a Demo' CTA. No product specs, no radar specs, no customer logos, no pricing, no demo video. 'Pioneering sensors to ▍' is literally an incomplete sentence. Zero visible product evidence beyond the description text.
OverallB Tier

The founding team is legitimately exceptional — Moore's PhD was literally on millimetre-wave radar for drone detection, which is almost perfectly on-the-nose for this product, and Doherty adds serious physics depth. The market is real, urgent, and government-backed globally. However, there is zero visible product evidence: no specs, no deployments, no customers, no revenue signals, and the website is barely functional. They're backed by YC, NATO DIANA, and RAEng which suggests institutional validation, but DroneTector needs to show hardware in the field and paying customers before this moves to A-tier. The key question is whether they've shipped real radar hardware or are still in lab/prototype phase.

Active Founders

Thomas Doherty
Thomas Doherty
Founder

DroneTector Co-Founder | Oxford DPhil Atomic & Laser Physics | St Andrews MPhys Theoretical Physics

Jordina Frances de Mas
Jordina Frances de Mas
Founder

DroneTector Co-Founder | PhD in CS (Automated Reasoning) | Formal Methods, Mathematics & Physics

Matthew Moore
Matthew Moore
Founder

DroneTector Founder | PhD in Physics from St Andrews | Millimetre-Wave Radar

DroneTector
DroneTector
TierB Tier
BatchWinter 2026
Team Size3
StatusActive