US Startup Develops AI Micro-Drones to Combat Mosquitoes

London. Engineers from American startup company 'Torniole' are developing artificial intelligence (AI) equipped micro-drones that can reduce the cost of mosquito eradication by a hundred times. 

These small drone swarms, developed with the support of Y Combinator, can directly hunt and kill mosquitoes in urban areas instead of using chemicals or other expensive and risky methods.

On July 14, Alex Toussaint, one of Torniole's founders, released a video of the company's first air-to-air kill on social media. The video shows a small drone chasing and knocking down a moth within a controlled test area. Although the test area was very small and the moth was not a mosquito, it is considered a big step towards developing drones that can identify and destroy insects in the air.

Extremely excited to announce our first air-to-air kill of a flying moth by an autonomous micro-drone. This is a big step towards completely eradicating mosquitoes. pic.twitter.com/UhtNqwXCQI

— Alex Toussaint (@alextoussss) July 14, 2026

Torniole's main goal is to develop drones weighing 40 grams that can track and target insects with the help of smartphone microphones, ultrasonic sensors, and special software. These drones are designed to send ultrasonic waves and listen for the echo with the help of a microphone. Since a mosquito's wings generate a different type of sound signal, these drones can easily distinguish between other insects and mosquitoes.

Torniole engineers Alex Toussaint and Clovis Pidalu hope to eradicate mosquitoes from entire urban areas in the future using swarms of such micro-drones. According to them, just 10 such drones can clear mosquitoes in a one square kilometer area.