A Alicante-based company advances autonomous guidance tech for drones and eVOLT passenger-capable drones
Project air bus airlines are leading a last-mile package delivery vision using drones, while North American efforts include eVOLT, drones able to carry passengers. Lift Aircraft already offers city tours as a tourist draw, and Israel Aerospace Industries has developed an unmanned cargo helicopter. Their common thread goes beyond flight: all rely on autopilots created by a firm based in Alicante, which has become a benchmark in the sector and aims for ambitious growth.
The Alicante firm has been producing thousands of devices and has a path to scale the output dramatically, with a plan to multiply production by a factor of 100 over the next six years. This bold expansion aligns with the industry’s anticipated shifts and the sector’s expected consolidation. In a move to boost visibility and finance the leap, the company went public on Euronext Access in April, signaling its growth trajectory. Early August brought a capital injection of 7.5 million euros from Axon Partners, reinforcing its capital base for scale and R&D.
At the helm is a seasoned aeronautical engineer and the current CEO, David Benavent. After earning his degree, he joined several Madrid-based firms focusing on early-stage guidance, navigation, and control projects for space agencies. He was nearing completion of a doctorate when he realized that progress often vanished into the air if the results stayed in the lab. He recognized the need to demonstrate tangible outcomes and revenue, not only research potential.
In those early days, Embention’s autopilot production area gained attention. The company’s team and facilities helped shape a growing vision for autonomous flight applications. A period of travel and exploration followed, with visits to Canada and the United States. Georgia Tech UAV Laboratory emerged as a leading hub for developing this technology, while practical life drew the founder back to Alicante with his wife to ground the venture in their homeland’s climate and culture.
That return sparked the entrepreneurial leap: turning the core guidance technology into a civilian product line. The first product from Embention addressed a critical need—guided pumps for firefighting—developed through connections with colleagues in North American laboratories. This pivot from purely military applications to civilian and industrial uses helped the company find its footing in a market hungry for reliable autonomy solutions.
The idea of blending drone operations with real-world industrial tasks increasingly shaped Embention’s strategy. While pilots often operate remotely or visually monitor the drone, many current applications in agriculture and industry rely on fully autonomous, pre-programmed routines. Embention’s autopilots enable both independent execution and safe, mixed operations when a human pilot might re-engage controls. The technology’s flexibility supports stabilization, precise flight, and robust response to changing conditions.
Looking at Embention’s client base reveals a growing and international footprint, with around 500 clients in its portfolio, most of them overseas. The company has collaborated with major players on high-profile projects, including Airbus for parcel delivery systems, Israel Aerospace Industries for advanced aviation solutions, and the Japanese Sling Toyota unit within SkyDrive, which pursues the development of a flying car in the near term. Beyond drones, Embention has identified eVOLT as a key growth axis: passenger-capable drones with multi-million euro market potential in the coming years. The forward-looking plan situates the company not only as a supplier of autopilots but as a pivotal enabler of broader autonomous aviation ecosystems in North America and Europe. [Embention, Corporate Overview, 2024]
As Embention expands, its technology footprint is increasingly tied to real-world use cases—from emergency response and wildfire management to parcel logistics and smart agriculture. The firm’s autopilots support autonomous flight while allowing for manual intervention if needed, ensuring safety and reliability across diverse environments. This capability positions Embention as a central player in the evolving landscape of unmanned systems, where autonomy, safety, and scalability remain the core drivers of adoption. [Industry Analysis, 2024]