From wildfires to front lines: War reshapes Danish drone company

Kenneth Geipel admits to a degree of discomfort.

He has just returned from Ukraine, where his drone software company, Robotto, is establishing a small office with a handful of local employees.

In Ukraine, people repeatedly thanked him for coming from Denmark, one of the countries that has most consistently supported Kyiv since Russia’s full-scale invasion.

He does not feel the praise is warranted.

- They are the ones losing their lives. We are only contributing money or materiel, says Geipel.

Geipel is chief commercial officer and co-founder of Robotto, based in Aalborg East. The company develops software for drones and has been delivering capabilities to Ukraine’s front line since 2023.

Defence was not part of the original plan.

Robotto is one of several North Jutland companies that have moved into the defence sector in recent years. Firms including MyDefence, Precision Technic Defence and Sky-Watch are reporting significant revenues.

A report by Dealroom and Danske Bank describes Aalborg as a hub for Danish defence start-ups, citing three principal factors: the ecosystem around Aalborg University; the presence of established industrial players in North Jutland; and the concentration of army barracks and naval facilities in the region.

It is difficult to quantify precisely the employment and revenue generated by Denmark’s defence industry. However, a deteriorating security environment and multi-billion-kroner investments in the Danish armed forces have created strong commercial momentum.

Robotto is among the beneficiaries.

When the founders left university, their focus was on wildfire response. They later developed solutions to protect critical infrastructure in cooperation with the European Space Agency and worked with the World Wide Fund for Nature on wildlife monitoring.

The company won a regional entrepreneurship award and a national television competition for its drone software. Its long-term plans were clear and its business model comparatively well defined.

Then, on 24 February 2022, Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

For Robotto, the effect was decisive.

A request that altered direction

Geipel served for ten years in the Danish armed forces, including three deployments to Afghanistan.

A former colleague contacted him. Together with his Ukrainian wife, the colleague had followed Robotto’s work in other sectors.

- Can’t you help us? they asked.

- When a fellow veteran calls and asks for help, you say yes, Geipel recalls.

Robotto’s co-founder, Iuliu Novac, is from Moldova and, as Geipel puts it, has “a particular relationship with Russia”.

Taken together, those factors made entry into defence feel less like a commercial pivot and more like an obligation.

- It was a cause we both felt strongly about and wanted to support.

Internal debate and departures

The decision prompted sustained internal discussion. The leadership team was clear that its software would be used in lethal operations.

They examined the ethical implications in detail, at both corporate and personal levels.

- Because of my deployments, I was the only person in the company at the time who understood what it means to take a life, says Geipel.

Management and staff agreed to proceed, motivated by the same belief that had underpinned earlier work in firefighting and conservation: that the technology should be used where it makes a tangible difference.

Not everyone was prepared to continue.

- When the first combat footage came back from Ukraine, two employees resigned. It became too real for them, Geipel says.

Defence now dominates

Approximately three years on, defence accounts for 90 percent of Robotto’s activity.

Geipel says he has not regretted the decision.

- There is no cause we feel more strongly about right now than Ukraine. They are fighting a war that has implications for all of Europe. They should have the support they need.

He acknowledges the dual-use risk inherent in advanced drone software. Preventing misuse remains an ongoing concern.

Among other measures, Robotto works with Denmark’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs to assess prospective customers and partners.

Its software is developed in close cooperation with Ukrainian units at the front line, allowing rapid iteration in response to operational feedback.

Moving closer to operations

Geipel describes the Ukrainian office as strategically significant.

- If something changes at the front, they should be able to call immediately and get support.

The expansion has been supported by investment from the venture fund Final Frontier and an investment guarantee from the Export and Investment Fund of Denmark.

Robotto began 2025 with six employees. It now employs 11 and expects to double that number by year’s end.

The company has yet to report a profit. With additional Ukrainian contracts, Geipel expects a surplus of several million Danish kroner in the next financial year.

He stresses that profitability is a means to sustain development rather than an end in itself.

Beyond the air domain

Robotto’s ambition is to enable autonomous cooperation between drones, including swarming in complex and contested environments where larger, better-funded competitors have struggled.

The company now positions itself as a stable, long-term partner to Ukraine.

Geipel expects to secure additional European customers in the near term.

And the roadmap extends beyond aerial systems.

- Our software can also be integrated into ground robots deployed in place of soldiers. That is a growing trend in this war, and it is an area we are actively exploring, he says.

Editor’s note: A separate investigation examines the Danish armed forces’ purchase of 87 bunkers near Tolne.

This article was first published in Defence Nordic's affiliate publication Nordjyske.