# Michael LaFramboise

> Michael LaFramboise is the CEO and co-founder of Aurelius Systems, a San Francisco defense startup building autonomous, AI-guided laser turrets that detect and destroy drones at the speed of light for roughly pennies per shot. A Case Western engineer, Navy veteran, and ex-Coherent and Amazon Devices operator, he dropped out of a Columbia PhD in nano optical systems to build Archimedes, a low-cost directed-energy weapon. Aurelius raised a $10 million seed co-led by General Catalyst and Draper Associates in September 2025 and opened a U.S. manufacturing line for high-power fiber lasers in 2026, aiming to become America's domestic one-stop laser shop.

- **Role:** CEO & Co-Founder at Aurelius Systems
- **Organizations:** Aurelius Systems, Oxygen (prior software startup), Amazon Devices, Coherent, U.S. Navy, Columbia University, Case Western Reserve University
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** Engineering (Class of 2018), Case Western Reserve University, PhD studies, nano optical systems (left to found Aurelius), Columbia University
- **Known for:** Co-founded and leads Aurelius Systems, raising over $13M including a $10M seed co-led by General Catalyst and Draper Associates, Built the Archimedes autonomous laser turret, which detects drones beyond 2km and engages beyond 1km at roughly $0.10 per neutralization, Took a laser prototype from concept to a working demo in days and to field operations within 18 months

## Career timeline

- **2018** — Graduates from Case Western Reserve University
- **—** — Serves in the U.S. Navy
- **—** — Works in the automotive industry in Detroit
- **—** — Joins Coherent in laser R&D and technical sales, selling components that go into laser weapons
- **—** — Product manager at Amazon Devices (consumer hardware)
- **—** — Co-founds Oxygen, a software startup, with John Marmaduke
- **—** — Begins PhD in nano optical systems at Columbia University, then leaves to start Aurelius
- **2024** — Co-founds Aurelius Systems with John Marmaduke
- **2024** — Raises $2.1M (July) and an additional $1.25M from Naval Ravikant (October); wins a Defense Innovation Unit award via the US-Singapore Joint Challenge
- **2025** — Closes $10M seed round co-led by General Catalyst and Draper Associates (September)
- **2026** — Opens a U.S. manufacturing line for high-power fiber lasers and optical assemblies (April)

## Achievements

- Co-founded and leads Aurelius Systems, raising over $13M including a $10M seed co-led by General Catalyst and Draper Associates
- Built the Archimedes autonomous laser turret, which detects drones beyond 2km and engages beyond 1km at roughly $0.10 per neutralization
- Took a laser prototype from concept to a working demo in days and to field operations within 18 months
- Won a Defense Innovation Unit award through the US-Singapore Joint Challenge
- Secured an early check from angel investor Naval Ravikant
- Opened a domestic U.S. manufacturing line for high-power fiber laser modules and precision optics in 2026

## Latest updates

- **2026-04** — Aurelius opened a U.S. manufacturing line for high-power fiber lasers and precision optical assemblies, aiming to become a domestic one-stop laser supplier.
- **2025-09** — Closed a $10M seed round co-led by General Catalyst and Draper Associates to scale engineering, manufacturing, and field testing.

## Links

- Website: https://aureliussystems.com
- LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-laframboise

---

Profile page: https://yespress.io/michael-laframboise
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-06-22