CategoryDrones
Overview
Helsinki-based deep tech company operating the world's largest fleet of autonomous airships for Persistent aerial intelligence and surveillance. CEO and co-founder Janne Hietala. Raised 15M EUR Series A in February 2026 led by the NATO Innovation Fund — its first investment in Finland. Selected for NATO DIANA program (one of 15 from 2,600 applicants). Expanding to Canada for Arctic surveillance.
Verified record
- Verified deployments
- 2 deployments on file
- Active incidents
- None on file
Key facts
Founded
HQ
Investorssee investors →
Notable
Data & sources
Web sources
2
2 sources backing this record.View all →
Models (1)
View all models →Kelluu on the deployment map
View the global map2 verified deployments across 1 region, newest verified Dec 2025. Explore where Kelluu's robots are operating, by place and type.
View the full Kelluu deployment record →
Relationships
Current leadership (1)
- Janne Hietala CEOsecondary-verified
Safety record
No incidents on record for Kelluu.
Only active incidents are counted. Retracted incidents are excluded from this summary but remain reachable at their canonical URLs.
Full safety record: incidents, sourcing, and exposure data →
Operator customers (1)
- Kelluu2 deployments
Recent coverage
Kelluu in third-party press
NATO Innovation Fund portfolio company Kelluu expands to Canada, bringing persistent airship surveillance to the Arctic
The EU-Startups Podcast | Interview with Janne Hietala, CEO of Kelluu
Telia, Kelluu Demonstrate Airship-Based 5G Connectivity for Mission-Critical Applications in Remote Areas
Peer companies
- Amazon25 models
- DJI9 models
- Anduril Industries7 models
- Skydio6 models
- Autel Robotics4 models
- Baykar4 models
Mentioned on (1)
Registry pages whose text names Kelluu.
People (1)
Financial state
- Total funding
- $16.0M
Each numeric field carries its own basis marker. Aggregators report a number; this surface preserves the source class so verification depth travels with the value.
Funding rounds (1)
- Series A2026-02-15
$16M(reported)
Timeline
Every recorded move in Kelluu’s history, most recent first: funding rounds, partnerships, acquisitions, supply-chain starts, key hires, and press.
Funding roundSeries A funding round
2026-02-15Series A raising $16000000
Recent activity
Every change to this record is dated, sourced, and independently verified where marked.
- Record createdAug 7, 2026
Added to the verified registry
- Deployment verifiedVerifiedDec 1, 2025
Kelluu Airship at Finland (Eurosatory 2026 showcase)
- Deployment verifiedVerifiedJan 1, 2024
Kelluu Airship at North Karelia, Joensuu, Finland
Sources (2)
Common questions
What is Kelluu?
What does Kelluu make?
Is Kelluu publicly traded?
Who competes with Kelluu?
Who is the CEO of Kelluu?
How can I invest in Kelluu?
Where is Kelluu headquartered?
How much funding has Kelluu raised?
Who owns Kelluu?
Where does Kelluu operate robots?
How many robots has Kelluu deployed?
Is Kelluu a top robotics company?
When was Kelluu founded?
Is Kelluu safe?
Methodology: Verified · 2 sources (no primary) · last reviewed 2026-10-21
Verification posture
Verified
Low confidence
Review state
Stable
Last reviewed 2026-10-21
Sources by quality tier
- 2
- unclassified
- Unclassified source
The framework is documented at /methodology. Corrections at /corrections. Reviewer: DEPLOY editorial team.
Methodology surface for Kelluu.Peer companies
- Amazon25 models
- DJI9 models
- Anduril Industries7 models
- Skydio6 models
- Autel Robotics4 models
- Baykar4 models
In the press
Recent coverage mentioning Kelluu from third-party publications. Automatically surfaced; not part of the verified registry record.
NATO Innovation Fund portfolio company Kelluu expands to Canada, bringing persistent airship surveillance to the Arctic
Kelluu, the Finnish company behind the world’s largest autonomous airship fleet, is expanding into Canada. The new location is at Area X.O in Ottawa, Canada’s national hub for…
The EU-Startups Podcast | Interview with Janne Hietala, CEO of Kelluu
Telia, Kelluu Demonstrate Airship-Based 5G Connectivity for Mission-Critical Applications in Remote Areas
Telia and Finnish airship operator Kelluu demonstrate 5G rapid deployment for mission-critical use
Telia and Kelluu lift 5G coverage to new heights with airships
Latham Advises on Kelluu’s €15 Million Series A
Finnish deeptech startup Kelluu secures €15 million Series A to scale autonomous airship surveillance
The NATO Innovation Fund Leads €15mn Series A in Kelluu to Build Europe’s Persistent Aerial Intelligence Layer and Strengthen NATO’s Surveillance Capabilities
Today, the NATO Innovation Fund announced its investment in Kelluu – a deep tech company operating the world’s largest autonomous airship fleet. This marks the Fund’s first direct…
Finland’s Kelluu Raises €15M NIF-led Series A
Kelluu raises €15M to scale autonomous airship intelligence platform
Finland’s Kelluu raises €15 million Series A led by NATO Innovation Fund to advance persistent aerial intelligence
Kelluu raises €15m to secure Europe’s skies with autonomous airships
Machine-readable surfaces
- Markdown mirror: /companies/kelluu.md
- RSS feed: /companies/kelluu/feed.xml
- JSON-LD: embedded in this page’s head
- REST API: /v1/companies/48a2f9e1-6d47-49de-b04e-678c79ccc8eb
- Revision history: /companies/kelluu/history
- Data documentation: /data
- Query this programmatically: Deploy MCP
Peer companies
- Amazon25 models
- DJI9 models
- Anduril Industries7 models
- Skydio6 models
- Autel Robotics4 models
- Baykar4 models
Video
Kelluu Ltd. produces small, autopiloted airships that can stay in the air (almost) permanently. Video by Sanomalehti Karjalainen Wait... airships? Yes, but not like they used to be: gigantic, aimed to carry heavy paylo
Janne Hietala, CEO of Kelluu, speaks with host Randy Goers about how the company's hydrogen-powered airships are revolutionizing aerial data collection.
Heat Index
Category contender75/100
A composite of competitive footprint, funding, press velocity, active partnerships, and supply-chain edges. Different from the Intelligence score below (which is per-form-factor productization). Non-robotics companies cap at 25.
Reality vs attention
Kelluu draws attention at the 41st percentile but verifies reality at the 56th percentile among aerial robots. Hype Gap -15, 73rd widest among aerial robots.
6-month trend
Analysis
Clean safety record across 2 verified deployments. Funded with institutional backing on record. Deployment footprint remains limited relative to category peers.
Dimension breakdown
Verified signal
Attention (reach, not merit)
DEPLOY Intelligence scores are computed from verified registry data: confirmed deployments, disclosed funding rounds, regulatory filings, active job listings, video viewership, and press coverage. Confidence ratings reflect data availability. Scores update nightly.
DEPLOY Indices — verified vs claimed
Last computed: Nov 7, 2026