On February 18, 2024, Ian Laffey tweeted about a hackathon project—a low-cost drone that navigated using just a camera and Google Maps instead of GPS. Alongside engineers Sacha Lévy and Carl Schoeller, all under 25, he demonstrated a solution to GPS jamming, a major issue for drones in Ukraine, where operators rely on manual control in challenging conditions.
The tweet went viral, prompting the trio to apply to Y Combinator, where they were accepted into the Spring 2024 cohort. Now, their San Francisco-based startup, Theseus, has secured $4.3 million in seed funding led by First Round Capital, with support from Y Combinator and Lux Capital.
Unlike drone manufacturers such as Skydio or Shield AI, Theseus specializes in hardware and software that enables military drones to operate autonomously without GPS. CEO Schoeller clarifies their tech focuses solely on navigation, not targeting systems.
Though Theseus hasn’t secured U.S. military contracts or battlefield deployment yet, its viral success caught the attention of U.S. Special Forces, leading to an early testing agreement. Recently, the team conducted trials at a secret military base.
Schoeller admits founding a company with near-strangers is risky, but for Theseus, the leap of faith paid off. With fresh funding, the startup is expanding its team and refining its tech for future defense applications.
