HyLight raised €13 million in funding to expand its fleet of autonomous hydrogen-powered airships and accelerate the development of its AI-powered infrastructure inspection platform. The round was backed by Rubio Impact Ventures, DRW, and Teampact Ventures, with participation from existing investors Y Combinator and Ring Capital.
Founded in 2022, the French company has developed the HyLighter, an autonomous airship designed to inspect power lines, gas pipelines, railways, and other critical infrastructure while providing an alternative to helicopter-based inspections.
HyLight has already logged more than 750 flight hours and inspected thousands of kilometers of infrastructure across France and other European markets.
The company is working with major infrastructure operators including Enedis, NaTran, Téréga, SNCF Réseau, and VINCI.
The new funding will support the industrialization of HyLight’s fleet, expansion of its automated data analysis capabilities, and development of a broader data infrastructure across Europe.
HyLight also plans to expand from four HyLighters operating today to as many as 15 aircraft operating simultaneously in 2027.
The company’s aircraft measure approximately 12 meters long and are electrically powered by hydrogen. They can fly for up to 10 hours with no direct emissions and very low noise levels, with a target range of approximately 350 kilometers.
Each HyLighter can carry up to 10 kilograms of sensors, including LiDAR systems, cameras, and methane detectors.
The platform can capture imagery at resolution of approximately 1 millimeter per pixel while flying at an altitude of 25 meters, along with LiDAR data exceeding 1,000 points per square meter.
HyLight’s aircraft have received authorization from France’s civil aviation authority, DGAC, and the European Union Aviation Safety Agency to conduct beyond-visual-line-of-sight operations over critical infrastructure in rural, suburban, and urban environments.
The HyLighter has also flown over the Palace of Versailles and has been demonstrated on the Champs-Élysées, at VivaTech, and at the Grand Palais.
Beyond collecting aerial data, HyLight is developing software that turns the information gathered during flights into actionable intelligence for infrastructure operators.
Its AI-powered system can automatically identify and geolocate more than 50 types of infrastructure defects and vegetation-related risks across power networks.
The company aims to replace the need for maintenance teams to manually analyze thousands of individual images with structured information identifying where potential issues are located and which assets may require attention.
As inspection frequency increases, HyLight plans to use the collected information to build continuously updated digital representations of infrastructure and surrounding territories.
The company believes this multimodal data infrastructure could eventually support applications beyond infrastructure inspection, including insurance, agriculture, and public land management.
HyLight has already brought a new production facility online and is working to internalize additional manufacturing of strategic components.
The financing will also support the recruitment of approximately 50 employees across engineering, AI and data, operations, regulatory affairs, and business development.
HyLight plans to accelerate its European commercial expansion, with Germany and the Netherlands identified as priority markets.
The company was founded by Martin Bocken, Josef Rokusek, and Thomas Laporte and operates an integrated model combining aeronautical engineering, software development, artificial intelligence, manufacturing, and field operations.
KEY QUOTES:
“Most power lines are still inspected by helicopter, just as they were fifty years ago. Our HyLighters already do the same job, with greater precision and less risk. This funding takes us from four aircraft to a fleet.”
Martin Bocken, Co-Founder and CEO of HyLight
“In HyLight we see a team and a technology with the potential to change how we keep critical infrastructure safe. Today, powerlines, pipelines and railways are still inspected by helicopter, which is expensive, unsafe, polluting and—as workforces age—insufficiently available. HyLight offers a clean and scalable alternative that does the same work reliably, even over densely populated areas, and has the potential to deliver unrivaled cost savings. That means faults are caught earlier, before they become leaks or outages, and the infrastructure we rely on becomes both more dependable and a good deal cleaner. We are glad to back Martin, Josef and Thomas in making this the new standard.”
Helmer Schukken, Managing Partner at Rubio Impact Ventures
