Kova Labs is a Helsinki-based military technology company that develops autonomy software for unmanned air and ground systems operating in complex, contested and low-connectivity environments. Its core product, Backbone, is a vision-based, platform-agnostic autonomy engine that enables GNSS-free navigation, obstacle avoidance and operation without pre-mapped terrain or continuous communications. The company also describes Kilo, a software-defined autonomous aerial system intended for flight under forest canopy, indoors and in urban areas.

Kova Labs was founded in 2025 by Touko Rautiainen, Luukas Lohilahti, Teemu Rautavalta and Otso Lehtovuori. The company has offices in Helsinki and Kyiv, and it has been establishing a presence in Ukraine. Its stated focus is on expanding the kill chain of unmanned systems into forests, urban areas and other denied environments, where the company says conventional remotely piloted systems are limited.

In August 2025 Kova Labs raised a €1.5 million pre-seed round led by Lifeline Ventures and Tuomas Rasila. In 2026 the company ran a program with the Finnish Defence Forces and was selected for Phase II of the European Defence Agency's BraveTech EU DefTech Forges program, receiving €120,000 after a field test in Estonia. In October 2026 it ranked first in Phase II of BraveTech EU and was awarded €300,000 following operational testing in Portugal alongside a Special Forces Land Task Unit. The company reported growing to 12 people by June 2026.