TEKEVER raises €70M for Unmanned Aerial Systems development

Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) startup TEKEVER has raised €70 million in a funding round led by Baillie Gifford, and the NATO Innovation Fund (NIF).

TEKEVER develops and operates UAS that provide customers with Intelligence-as-a-Service. Unlike traditional aerospace companies, TEKEVER is vertically integrated, combining aeronautical design, manufacturing and production with software development and data science, which allows them to quickly bring products to market and adapt them to evolving customer needs.

Its technology is dual-use, deployed by civilian and military organisations as well as private companies, with applications ranging from detecting environmental threats such as oil spills, wildfires or flash flooding to gathering intelligence and conducting search and rescue missions for defence and security purposes.

The already profitable company is also a recognised expert in advanced satellite communication and networking systems for multi-satellite missions, particularly Inter-Satellite Links, as well as satellite RF payloads for Earth observation and space exploration.

Customers include the European Maritime Safety Agency and the UK Home Office, as well as multiple defence and security forces and corporations throughout Europe, North America and Southeast Asia. 

TEKEVER systems have been deployed to Ukraine to enable some of the most complex and demanding long range intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions, performed under the most extreme operational and technical conditions.

According to CEO Ricardo Mendes, TEKEVER was built to provide its customers with future-proofed, AI-centric hardware-enabled systems that are produced at scale and effectively delivered and sustained globally. 

Baillie Gifford and the NATO Innovation Fund (NIF) led the funding, which also included the National Security Strategic Investment Fund (NSSIF), Crescent Cove Advisors LP, and existing investors Iberis Semper and Cedrus Capital. 

Chris Evdaimon, Investment Manager, Private Companies at Baillie Gifford, commented: “

TEKEVER is a rapidly growing and already profitable company, a rare combination in defence, national security and space startups. We were attracted by its approach to building drones – with a software-centric and vertically integrated model – along with the real-life experience TEKEVER has accumulated.”

Patrick Schneider-Sikorsky, Partner at the NATO Investment Fund, commented: 

“Unmanned Aerial System technologies are critical to advancing defence, security and resilience. We are thrilled to support TEKEVER – whose technology is revolutionising the defence and commercial intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance sectors.”

As part of its growth plan, TEKEVER, which is already profitable, will accelerate investment in R&D to support product innovation and expand its global production, delivery and support footprint.

Lead image: TEKEVER. Photo: uncredited.