Origin, a Latvian defense technology company founded in 2022 by Agris Kipurs and Ilya Nevdahs, focuses on developing advanced autonomous systems for democracies, enhancing Europe and NATO's capabilities with cost-efficient hardware and advanced software. This autumn, the company closed two major financing rounds.
In the Startup of the Day column Agris Kipurs, CEO and co-founder at Origin, shares the details about the startup's idea, product, and future goals.
The Startup of the Day column on AIN.Capital is dedicated to tech projects from all sectors that originate from the CEE countries. If you would like to introduce your project, please fill in the questionnaire.
Tell us about your startup. How does it work?
Origin is a defence technology startup from Riga, Latvia. We specialize in advanced autonomous systems, mainly focusing on airborne precision-guided weapons. Our flagship product, the BEAK, combines AI-driven autonomy with precision guidance. That provides an effective and affordable alternative to traditional defence systems.
How did you come up with the startup’s idea? What was the reason/motivation behind it?
Origin was founded in 2022 amidst the Russian invasion of Ukraine. My co-founder, Ilya Nevdah, and I aimed to provide a new generation of cost-effective precision weapons capabilities. But Origin’s story began much earlier, back in 2013, when we were the first who launched an autonomously flying consumer drone to the market. It was designed to track and film athletes in action sports and was the first of its kind to fly without a remote controller, following sensors worn on the user’s wrist. Our first venture was called Airdog. We also were first who introduced the foldable drone design, now a standard feature but groundbreaking at the time. Airdog was eventually acquired by Alarm.com in 2020.
After that, we weren’t quite sure what our next venture would be. Then the full-scale invasion of Ukraine happened, and we knew we had to get back to what we do best: building advanced drone systems. This time, though, it was for the battlefield. We saw early on just how crucial drones would be in this conflict, well before it became a widely accepted truth. So, we hit the ground in Ukraine, talking to people on the front lines, understanding the benefits of these systems, and more importantly, figuring out where they were falling short. It was hands-on market research, but with boots on the ground. With our decade of experience in autonomous drones for action sports enthusiasts, we saw a chance to create cost-effective alternatives to today’s pricey precision-guided munitions.
How long did it take to reach the prototype or MVP? What did you encounter?
We were able to build our first product and deliver the initial units within 18 months. That’s fast in this industry, especially given the hurdles you face in the defence market. It has one of the highest barriers to entry compared to many other sectors, and there are countless loopholes to jump through before something can be purchased. But we managed to do it in less than 2 years, and that allowed us to continue growing the company, investing in further R&D, and expanding the capabilities of our technology.
When exactly did you launch your product? Or when the launch is planned?
Our flagship product, the BEAK, has already been launched and battlefield-tested. It’s a man-portable ISR (Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance) drone with precision guidance technology that offers a cost-effective alternative to traditional systems. We achieved this by retaining valuable components on a reusable carrier vehicle, rather than embedding them in disposable projectiles.
The BEAK uses advanced computer-vision algorithms and AI for precision guidance and autonomous flight. This allows it to navigate complex environments and operate effectively under intense jamming. It's designed to be quick to deploy, easy to use, and adaptable to rapidly changing conditions.
What we've developed is the precision-guided weapon system that offers a "cost per kill" on par with FPV drones, which have been used successfully in conflicts like the war in Ukraine but come with significant limitations. Our system provides precision strikes and autonomous functionality even in environments with strong electronic warfare interference, ensuring continued operation and safe return if communication is lost. Think of it as a flying Javelin missile: a combination of a targeting system and munitions, but with the added benefit of being reusable and far more affordable.
Tell us about the startup's business model. How do you monetize your product?
We use private capital to develop deployment-ready systems, bringing them directly to the end users. This approach has helped us build a strong reputation quickly, which is essential for making sales in our industry. Our primary customers are NATO countries, who decide where and how to deploy our systems to best meet their needs.
What are your target markets and consumers?
The war in Ukraine has exposed the rapidly changing nature of warfare and forced all nations to re-examine their defence capabilities. Even large democracies who have the means to afford heavy equipment such as tanks or fighter jets are re-evaluating the cost-effectiveness of current precision-strike systems, often priced in hundreds of thousands or even millions per use. At the same time, loitering and FPV drones, while cheaper, have proven to be vulnerable to electronic warfare and limited by short-range air defences.
That’s where Origin comes in. We’re here to provide a better solution: affordable, precision-guided weapon systems that can give smaller nation-states real military strength, not just parade-ready displays. The reality is that many European countries can’t afford enough traditional precision weapons to truly defend themselves. For countries like Latvia, having budget-friendly precision-strike capabilities isn’t just a luxury. It’s a necessity. We need to be able to defend ourselves effectively, not just show off military gear on Independence Day. Our goal is to level the playing field, giving nations with smaller defence budgets the tools they need to deter threats and stay secure.
If the startup has already launched the product, what are the results: metrics, income, or any clear indicators that can be evaluated.
We can’t share specific data due to the nature of our business, but I can tell you this: Origin's cost per kill is about 20 times lower compared to Javelin and 10 times lower than the cheapest precision strike options available.
What about your team? How many people are working in the startup? If you’re looking for new employees, indicate who exactly.
We’ve got a tight-knit team right now, all in-house. With a few open positions, we’re looking to strengthen our team with engineering talent.
Have you already raised any investments? Provide us with more details on each funding round: the amount, investors, the purpose of the investment.
In October, we closed €4 million in financing. This included €2.4 million in venture capital, led by Change Ventures with participation from Silicon Roundabout Ventures, and €1.6 million in EU grants and support from the Latvian Ministry of Defence. The funding is helping us accelerate product development and grow our team with key engineering and sales hires.
More recently, in November, we secured an additional €4.5 million from the European Defence Fund (EDF) to develop a man-portable ISTAR drone (intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition, and reconnaissance) with target laser designation capabilities. This collaborative project involves partners from Lithuania and Germany and is supported by the European Commission and the defence ministries of Latvia, Lithuania, and Germany. We’re aiming to optimize size, weight, and power consumption (SWaP) across the laser designator, see-spot camera, gimbal, and the UAV itself.
What's next? Tell us about your future plans.
The product is constantly evolving; it’s never truly “finished.” For now and the foreseeable future, we’re focused on enabling precision strike capabilities. It’s the heart of what we do. We’re working on the precision guidance side, and that capability will continue to evolve in terms of altitude, precision, distance from the target, anti-jamming capabilities, and the autonomous features.
As we ship the product in larger quantities, we’ll also introduce new variants of the precision guidance kit and roll out software updates to enhance capabilities, much like in the consumer tech world. Eventually, we’ll also release a hardware update for the carrier, leading to a family of products with different versions. While we started with ground targets, we are now also working on intercepting aerial targets.
