U.S. market leader in unmanned aircraft systems evaluates the embedded security technology of the binary-level protection specialist for current and future platforms
emproof B.V. has been selected as one of six technology companies for the "Blue Magic Netherlands" (BMN) venturing initiative run by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI). The event is part of GA-ASI's broader "Blue Magic Ventures" program.
GA-ASI is one of the world's leading manufacturers of unmanned aircraft systems. As part of an initial project, the company will first assess and evaluate the effectiveness of emproof's technology for deployment on its current and future platforms.
The selection follows a pitch event in Eindhoven, the Netherlands, where startups and scaleups presented their solutions directly to GA-ASI's decision-makers. According to GA-ASI, the most recent edition drew more than 350 participants from the aerospace and defense industry. In this environment, emproof stood out with its approach to securing software directly at the binary level against reverse engineering and tampering.
Security for Unmanned Systems
Modern unmanned systems process sensitive data and operate in demanding mission environments. Protecting their firmware against reverse engineering and the extraction of intellectual property is therefore among the central security requirements. This is exactly where emproof's technology comes in. It hardens embedded systems directly at the binary level, without requiring access to the original source code. This minimally invasive approach also makes it possible to retroactively secure systems that have already been deployed.
"The fact that a global leader in unmanned aircraft systems is evaluating our technology in a project for its platforms validates our approach of protecting critical embedded systems directly at the binary level. For emproof, this is an important step in a market segment where security must be ensured across a device's entire lifecycle," says Marc Schieder, CEO of emproof.
Through the partnership, and in the course of the upcoming software evaluation, emproof gains access to technical resources and to insights into the integration requirements of complex aviation platforms. Beyond the commercial market, emproof is also active in the defense and aerospace sector, where it collaborates with European systems houses in EDFfunded projects. Alongside emproof B.V., five other companies were selected for the Dutch BMN initiative, working on areas including AI applications and navigation technologies.
About Blue Magic Ventures
Blue Magic Ventures is GA-ASI's corporate venturing initiative, designed to identify, invest in, and scale breakthrough technologies from startups and innovators worldwide. Through capital investment, platform access, and intensive technical collaboration, Blue Magic Ventures accelerates the path from concept to operational readiness for dual-use technologies.
About GA-ASI
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. is the world's leading manufacturer of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS). With more than 9 million flight hours, the Predator® line of UAS has been flying for over 30 years and includes the MQ-9A Reaper®, MQ-1C Gray Eagle®, MQ-20 Avenger®, and MQ-9B SkyGuardian®/SeaGuardian. The company is committed to delivering long-endurance, multi-mission solutions that provide persistent situational awareness and rapid response.