Dutch start-up Fortaegis has raised $50mn to commercialize a technology that uses the unique digital fingerprint of silicon chips to secure networks for drones, satellites, and driverless cars. The Amsterdam-based firm, with offices in the US, Europe, and Asia, is working with 25 companies and nations across defence, space, telecoms, and data centres. Founder and CEO Boudewijn Wijnands said the "secure compute" system helps allies control the foundations of compute amid rising AI security concerns. Fortaegis collaborates with governments in the US, UK, Japan, Singapore, Germany, France, and the Netherlands, with national labs validating its tech.

The funding round was led by Singapore-based Serendipity Capital and included the venture arm of Tokyo Electron, Japan's largest chip equipment maker. The technology extracts unique silicon fingerprints to generate constantly changing, non-stored encryption keys, which Wijnands calls "quantum safe" and a "gift of Mother Nature." Hardware embedding ensures data sovereignty and speeds communication 200 times faster than current cryptographic protocols.

Fortaegis engages with NATO and the Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research (TNO) on massive drone swarms, with TNO validating the architecture against aggressive hacking. The company also works with ASML and Eindhoven University of Technology on security for autonomous AI systems, targeting commercial manufacturing in 2027.