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Dual-use drone startup Tekever has raised 70 million euros ($74 million) to develop its product and expand into new markets, particularly in the US. The news is part of a trend of small technology-driven startups moving into markets typically dominated by ‘security cores’.
It also shows that unmanned aerial drones are becoming more and more sophisticated, in part because of the speed of development created by the war in Ukraine. Only last month, another European drone, Origin, increased funding for its low-cost drone system operating in that country.
Tekever’s funding round was led by Scottish investment firm Baillie Gifford & Co. (which previously backed SpaceX) and the NATO Innovation Fund, a $1 billion defense VC fund announced in 2023. This fund is linked to NATO and is concentrated. in supporting startups that are developing technologies for sectors such as defense, security, and resilience.
Founded in Portugal but also operating in the UK and France, Tekever’s surveillance drones have, in a typical case, been used to track down migrant smugglers in the English Channel. Its largest drone, the ARX, can command dozens of smaller drones to survey the land or ocean… or the battlefield.
Unlike many traditional aerospace companies, Tekever controls all aspects of its operations from airframe design and manufacturing to procurement, avionics, software, data, and AI. The company says this means it can quickly adapt its products to customer needs, as well as the rapidly changing theater of modern warfare.
CEO Ricardo Mendes told Bloomberg News that Europe needs to step up: “We have a war in Ukraine on our borders again. [Europe is ] lags behind in terms of technological advancement.”
Tekever was arrested before raising a series A of 20 million euros in 2022 from Ventura Capital and Iberis Capital.
It does not disclose its valuation for this latest round, and we are asking to find out if this is a series C or an extension of the previous round.
NATO Innovation Fund partner Patrick Schneider-Sikorsky told TechCrunch: “The drone market has grown significantly in Europe since 2022. At the NATO Innovation Fund, we have a deep interest in technologies that can bring impact to both civil and defense markets and we are there. we are proud to support Tekever for the company’s many defense, and ISR applications for businesses and governments across Europe.”
In a statement, Chris Evdaimon, Investment Manager, Private Equity at Baillie Gifford, added: “We are attracted to Tekever’s approach to building drones – with a software-centric and vertically integrated model.”
Tekever’s drones have been deployed in Ukraine, with the European Maritime Safety Agency, and the UK Home Office.
The UK’s National Security Strategic Investment Fund and Crescent Cove Advisors (based in Silicon Valley) also participated in the round, as did existing investors Iberis Semper and Cedrus Capital.
Additional reporting by Anna Heim
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