Pravo Ventures invests in Auron: What does the Ukrainian-American counter-drone startup do?

The U.S.-based investment syndicate Pravo Ventures has announced an investment in Auron Solutions, a Ukrainian-American defence tech company developing AI-based radio-frequency systems to detect, classify and take control of hostile drones.

Defender Media spoke with the founders of Pravo Ventures and Auron Solutions to learn more about the startup, its technology and development, and what attracted investors to the company.

What is known about the startup

Auron’s solution is based on radio-frequency intelligence models trained using artificial intelligence. The company’s module integrates with radars, electronic warfare systems, and more.

It processes signals in real time, identifies threats, distinguishes between friendly and enemy systems, and responds to the latter. The developers claim that the product allows operators to intercept drone control channels instead of jamming the entire spectrum.

The company was founded in 2024 by Ukrainian Daniel Stepanenko and American Ryan Nehring. Stepanenko said in a comment that they have a team of Ukrainian and American veterans and are building the technology together with brigades of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the DIU.

Stepanenko also served in the Defence Forces, and later worked as head of defence programmes at Intellias. Nehring designed radio-frequency systems at L3Harris Technologies for the US Army and NASA.

Key facts about the investment

Auron was chosen for investment thanks to its strengths: its technology, its growth momentum, and its fit with the future of warfare, say Pravo Ventures general partners Hans Braunfisch and Vlad Sutea.

Pravo is a US-based syndicate focused on supporting Ukraine’s defence. Its founders allow Western business leaders, investors, former politicians and others to invest small amounts in Ukraine. Among Pravo Ventures’ announced investments is the Ukrainian startup Aerobavovna, which produces aerostats.

The syndicate’s founders expect that future conflicts will become increasingly saturated with drones, and that the US and its allies need scalable ways to defend against them.

‘Counter-drone is a crowded space, so it is rare to see an approach that feels genuinely differentiated, especially one that is neither a jamming nor a kinetic solution,’ explains Braunfisch.

It also mattered to them that the technology is not tied to a specific platform and is grounded in lessons learned in Ukraine, including Stepanenko’s own experience.

Chevron Technology Ventures – an American company with its own accelerator – has also invested in Auron to date.

Pravo Ventures’ founders are not disclosing the size of the investment. However, they say they focus on the pre-seed and seed stages with smaller amounts – up to $500,000. Daniel Stepanenko says the funds raised will go towards R&D, the team, and the opening of offices in Kyiv and Los Angeles.