{"id":1404,"date":"2025-03-26T06:17:43","date_gmt":"2025-03-26T04:17:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thedefender.media\/?p=1404"},"modified":"2026-04-10T17:54:05","modified_gmt":"2026-04-10T14:54:05","slug":"oppenheimer-backs-babai-rightspot","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thedefender.media\/en\/2025\/03\/oppenheimer-backs-babai-rightspot\/","title":{"rendered":"Network.VC Defense (formerly OPPND) backs BabAI and RightSpot.AI, two drone navigation startups"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Ukrainian-American investment fund Network.VC Defense (formerly OPPND and Oppenheimer Acceleration Fund) has added two new defence tech startups to its portfolio. According to Scroll Media<\/a><\/em>, the fund has invested in BabAI and RightSpot.AI, both of which are developing advanced protection and navigation technologies for combat and reconnaissance drones.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

BabAI is building an AI-powered active defence system to protect reconnaissance drones from FPV attacks<\/a>. The system has already undergone combat testing and is integrated with two leading drone manufacturers and a laser turret system. According to the company, BabAI enables autonomous evasive manoeuvres, significantly increasing drone survivability on the battlefield.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

RightSpot.AI is pioneering GPS-free navigation for drones, missiles, and autonomous vehicles. Its multimodal navigation platform provides reliable positioning in GPS-denied environments, even through clouds and at night. Demand for RBASE, the startup\u2019s flagship product, has already exceeded 1,000 units per month, according to the publication.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Network.VC Defense specialises in early-stage defence tech investments. It offers startups $125K in funding\u2014$25K during the preparation phase and an additional $100K during its accelerator program. In total, the accelerator plans to invest $2 million in startups from its first cohort.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In February 2025, Defender Media reported<\/a> that Network.VC Defense fund had also backed PanoptesAI and Sierra Turbines, further expanding its footprint in the defence tech space.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Both companies secure $125K each from the defence-focused accelerator<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":22407,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"pmpro_default_level":"","_featured_category_order":0,"_article_badge":"featured","footnotes":""},"categories":[2238,31,1],"tags":[2658,127,1728,300,2656,229],"class_list":["post-1404","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-oppnd-playbook","category-investments","category-state","tag-babayte","tag-drones","tag-investments","tag-oppnd","tag-rightspot","tag-startups","pmpro-has-access"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nNetwork.VC Defense (formerly OPPND) backs BabAI and RightSpot.AI, two drone navigation startups<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"New investee BabAI is building an AI active defense system that helps recon drones autonomously evade FPV drone attacks.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/thedefender.media\/en\/2025\/03\/oppenheimer-backs-babai-rightspot\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Network.VC Defense (formerly OPPND) backs BabAI and RightSpot.AI, two drone navigation startups\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"New investee BabAI is building an AI active defense system that helps recon drones autonomously evade FPV drone attacks.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/thedefender.media\/en\/2025\/03\/oppenheimer-backs-babai-rightspot\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Defender Media\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/DefenderMediaUA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-03-26T04:17:43+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-04-10T14:54:05+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/thedefender.media\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/oppnd-fund.webp\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1920\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1080\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/webp\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Roman Sudolsky\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@DefenderMediaUA\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@DefenderMediaUA\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Roman Sudolsky\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/thedefender.media\\\/en\\\/2025\\\/03\\\/oppenheimer-backs-babai-rightspot\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/thedefender.media\\\/en\\\/2025\\\/03\\\/oppenheimer-backs-babai-rightspot\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Roman Sudolsky\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/thedefender.media\\\/en\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/6c1684622852172690b052cccca1b7d3\"},\"headline\":\"Network.VC Defense (formerly OPPND) backs BabAI and RightSpot.AI, two drone navigation startups\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-03-26T04:17:43+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-04-10T14:54:05+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/thedefender.media\\\/en\\\/2025\\\/03\\\/oppenheimer-backs-babai-rightspot\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":229,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/thedefender.media\\\/en\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/thedefender.media\\\/en\\\/2025\\\/03\\\/oppenheimer-backs-babai-rightspot\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/thedefender.media\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/03\\\/oppnd-fund.webp\",\"keywords\":[\"babayte\",\"drones\",\"investments\",\"oppnd\",\"rightspot\",\"startups\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Defense Tech Investor Playbook\",\"Investments\",\"State\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/thedefender.media\\\/en\\\/2025\\\/03\\\/oppenheimer-backs-babai-rightspot\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/thedefender.media\\\/en\\\/2025\\\/03\\\/oppenheimer-backs-babai-rightspot\\\/\",\"name\":\"Network.VC Defense (formerly OPPND) backs BabAI and RightSpot.AI, two drone navigation startups\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/thedefender.media\\\/en\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/thedefender.media\\\/en\\\/2025\\\/03\\\/oppenheimer-backs-babai-rightspot\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/thedefender.media\\\/en\\\/2025\\\/03\\\/oppenheimer-backs-babai-rightspot\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/thedefender.media\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/03\\\/oppnd-fund.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-03-26T04:17:43+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-04-10T14:54:05+00:00\",\"description\":\"New investee BabAI is building an AI active defense system that helps recon drones autonomously evade FPV drone attacks.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/thedefender.media\\\/en\\\/2025\\\/03\\\/oppenheimer-backs-babai-rightspot\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/thedefender.media\\\/en\\\/2025\\\/03\\\/oppenheimer-backs-babai-rightspot\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/thedefender.media\\\/en\\\/2025\\\/03\\\/oppenheimer-backs-babai-rightspot\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/thedefender.media\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/03\\\/oppnd-fund.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/thedefender.media\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/03\\\/oppnd-fund.webp\",\"width\":1920,\"height\":1080,\"caption\":\"Oppnd Fund Logo\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/thedefender.media\\\/en\\\/2025\\\/03\\\/oppenheimer-backs-babai-rightspot\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/thedefender.media\\\/en\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Network.VC Defense (formerly OPPND) backs BabAI and RightSpot.AI, two drone navigation startups\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/thedefender.media\\\/en\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/thedefender.media\\\/en\\\/\",\"name\":\"DEFENDER\",\"description\":\"Defence Tech\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/thedefender.media\\\/en\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/thedefender.media\\\/en\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/thedefender.media\\\/en\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Defender Media\",\"alternateName\":\"Defender Media\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/thedefender.media\\\/en\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/thedefender.media\\\/en\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/thedefender.media\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/06\\\/cropped-ico.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/thedefender.media\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/06\\\/cropped-ico.png\",\"width\":512,\"height\":512,\"caption\":\"Defender Media\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/thedefender.media\\\/en\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/DefenderMediaUA\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/DefenderMediaUA\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.linkedin.com\\\/company\\\/defender-media\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/t.me\\\/DefenderMedia\\\/\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/thedefender.media\\\/en\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/6c1684622852172690b052cccca1b7d3\",\"name\":\"Roman Sudolsky\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/7d77c0a83e4c52ebef35021bead038d2abf76287cffefe68c0cbc92cc625e827?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/7d77c0a83e4c52ebef35021bead038d2abf76287cffefe68c0cbc92cc625e827?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/7d77c0a83e4c52ebef35021bead038d2abf76287cffefe68c0cbc92cc625e827?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Roman Sudolsky\"},\"description\":\"Founding Editor at Defender Media Almost 20 years of experience in media and PR. He was the Editor-in-Chief of AIN.UA, an editor at Forbes Ukraine, and launched Speka Media, along with several other projects, from scratch.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.linkedin.com\\\/in\\\/romansudolsky\\\/\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/thedefender.media\\\/en\\\/author\\\/roman-sudolskyy\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Network.VC Defense (formerly OPPND) backs BabAI and RightSpot.AI, two drone navigation startups","description":"New investee BabAI is building an AI active defense system that helps recon drones autonomously evade FPV drone attacks.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/thedefender.media\/en\/2025\/03\/oppenheimer-backs-babai-rightspot\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Network.VC Defense (formerly OPPND) backs BabAI and RightSpot.AI, two drone navigation startups","og_description":"New investee BabAI is building an AI active defense system that helps recon drones autonomously evade FPV drone attacks.","og_url":"https:\/\/thedefender.media\/en\/2025\/03\/oppenheimer-backs-babai-rightspot\/","og_site_name":"Defender Media","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/DefenderMediaUA","article_published_time":"2025-03-26T04:17:43+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-04-10T14:54:05+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1920,"height":1080,"url":"https:\/\/thedefender.media\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/oppnd-fund.webp","type":"image\/webp"}],"author":"Roman Sudolsky","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@DefenderMediaUA","twitter_site":"@DefenderMediaUA","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Roman Sudolsky","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/thedefender.media\/en\/2025\/03\/oppenheimer-backs-babai-rightspot\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/thedefender.media\/en\/2025\/03\/oppenheimer-backs-babai-rightspot\/"},"author":{"name":"Roman Sudolsky","@id":"https:\/\/thedefender.media\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/6c1684622852172690b052cccca1b7d3"},"headline":"Network.VC Defense (formerly OPPND) backs BabAI and RightSpot.AI, two drone navigation startups","datePublished":"2025-03-26T04:17:43+00:00","dateModified":"2026-04-10T14:54:05+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/thedefender.media\/en\/2025\/03\/oppenheimer-backs-babai-rightspot\/"},"wordCount":229,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/thedefender.media\/en\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/thedefender.media\/en\/2025\/03\/oppenheimer-backs-babai-rightspot\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/thedefender.media\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/oppnd-fund.webp","keywords":["babayte","drones","investments","oppnd","rightspot","startups"],"articleSection":["Defense Tech Investor Playbook","Investments","State"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/thedefender.media\/en\/2025\/03\/oppenheimer-backs-babai-rightspot\/","url":"https:\/\/thedefender.media\/en\/2025\/03\/oppenheimer-backs-babai-rightspot\/","name":"Network.VC Defense (formerly OPPND) backs BabAI and RightSpot.AI, two drone navigation startups","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/thedefender.media\/en\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/thedefender.media\/en\/2025\/03\/oppenheimer-backs-babai-rightspot\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/thedefender.media\/en\/2025\/03\/oppenheimer-backs-babai-rightspot\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/thedefender.media\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/oppnd-fund.webp","datePublished":"2025-03-26T04:17:43+00:00","dateModified":"2026-04-10T14:54:05+00:00","description":"New investee BabAI is building an AI active defense system that helps recon drones autonomously evade FPV drone attacks.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/thedefender.media\/en\/2025\/03\/oppenheimer-backs-babai-rightspot\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/thedefender.media\/en\/2025\/03\/oppenheimer-backs-babai-rightspot\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/thedefender.media\/en\/2025\/03\/oppenheimer-backs-babai-rightspot\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/thedefender.media\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/oppnd-fund.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/thedefender.media\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/oppnd-fund.webp","width":1920,"height":1080,"caption":"Oppnd Fund Logo"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/thedefender.media\/en\/2025\/03\/oppenheimer-backs-babai-rightspot\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/thedefender.media\/en\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Network.VC Defense (formerly OPPND) backs BabAI and RightSpot.AI, two drone navigation startups"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/thedefender.media\/en\/#website","url":"https:\/\/thedefender.media\/en\/","name":"DEFENDER","description":"Defence Tech","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/thedefender.media\/en\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/thedefender.media\/en\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/thedefender.media\/en\/#organization","name":"Defender Media","alternateName":"Defender Media","url":"https:\/\/thedefender.media\/en\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/thedefender.media\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/thedefender.media\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/cropped-ico.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/thedefender.media\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/cropped-ico.png","width":512,"height":512,"caption":"Defender Media"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/thedefender.media\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/DefenderMediaUA","https:\/\/x.com\/DefenderMediaUA","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/defender-media\/","https:\/\/t.me\/DefenderMedia\/"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/thedefender.media\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/6c1684622852172690b052cccca1b7d3","name":"Roman Sudolsky","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7d77c0a83e4c52ebef35021bead038d2abf76287cffefe68c0cbc92cc625e827?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7d77c0a83e4c52ebef35021bead038d2abf76287cffefe68c0cbc92cc625e827?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7d77c0a83e4c52ebef35021bead038d2abf76287cffefe68c0cbc92cc625e827?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Roman Sudolsky"},"description":"Founding Editor at Defender Media Almost 20 years of experience in media and PR. He was the Editor-in-Chief of AIN.UA, an editor at Forbes Ukraine, and launched Speka Media, along with several other projects, from scratch.","sameAs":["https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/romansudolsky\/"],"url":"https:\/\/thedefender.media\/en\/author\/roman-sudolskyy\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedefender.media\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1404","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedefender.media\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedefender.media\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedefender.media\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedefender.media\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1404"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/thedefender.media\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1404\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":27128,"href":"https:\/\/thedefender.media\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1404\/revisions\/27128"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedefender.media\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/22407"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedefender.media\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1404"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedefender.media\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1404"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedefender.media\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1404"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}