AI drone manufacturer Tekever has successfully raised $580 million in a funding round, bringing its post-investment valuation to $6.4 billion. The company reports that its drone systems have accumulated over 50,000 flight hours in Ukraine since 2022.
As European nations boost military expenditures in response to the Russia-Ukraine conflict and the growing threat from Moscow, defense technology startups across the region are securing increasingly larger funding rounds. On Wednesday, the Portuguese-British venture announced its new valuation, highlighting its focus on AI-driven autonomous systems, including reconnaissance and surveillance drones.
Tekever stated that since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in 2022, its drones have completed more than 50,000 hours of operational combat flight missions on the Ukrainian battlefield. The funding round was led by the University of California's investment arm and Baillie Gifford, with participation from Merlyn Advisors, Crescent Cove, Ventura Capital, and Iberis Capital.
In July, Tekever disclosed that the UK Ministry of Defence had selected the company for a ten-year surveillance technology project valued at up to GBP 400 million (approximately $530 million). Founder and CEO Ricardo Mendes emphasized in a statement that artificial intelligence, autonomous technology, and sovereign technological capabilities will form the foundation of security and resilience for democratic societies in the coming decades.
"This funding provides us with ample resources to accelerate our growth trajectory, further scale our operations, and build a global technology leader from Europe," Mendes added. Tekever plans to use the capital to expand its global footprint, strengthen its industrial and technical capabilities, and accelerate strategic acquisitions.
Ben Wallace, a portfolio manager at Merlyn Advisors and former UK Defence Secretary, noted that Europe's security will increasingly depend on cultivating tech companies capable of rapid innovation, industrial-scale production, and delivering combat-ready equipment. "Tekever has proven through real-world performance that it can deliver on all three fronts," he said.
Tekever represents one of several defense technology startups securing substantial funding amid Europe's current rearmament drive. German autonomous drone companies Helsing and Quantum Systems each secured $1.8 billion and EUR 1 billion in funding rounds during July, UK air defense company Cambridge Aerospace completed a $300 million raise in August, and German AI unmanned systems startup Stark secured EUR 500 million in June.
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