Tekever Becomes Europe’s Newest Defence Tech Unicorn

The funding was fully backed by existing investors, including Ventura Capital (the lead investor), Baillie Gifford, the NATO Innovation Fund (NIF), Iberis Capital, and Crescent Cove.

The announcement comes as TEKEVER launches a major £400 million, five-year program in the UK called OVERMATCH. The goal is to boost the UK’s defence industry and keep the country and its allies ahead in advanced, AI-powered military technologies.

This investment will support research, build infrastructure, and create more than 1,000 high-skilled jobs. It will also expand UK production of TEKEVER’s drones, like the AR3 and AR5, and help develop homegrown defence capabilities.

TEKEVER has already worked with the UK Ministry of Defence and Ukrainian forces over the past three years. Its drones have flown over 10,000 combat hours and played a role in destroying more than £3 billion worth of Russian military equipment including two S-400 air defence systems.

TEKEVER aims to build a strong defence innovation network in Europe. Its goal is to bring together European companies especially small and medium-sized ones to test, improve, and scale up new defence technologies that help armed forces carry out complex missions.

One key lesson from the war in Ukraine is the need to stay ahead of the enemy. That means governments and businesses must work more closely, adopt new technology quickly, and improve it even faster.

With its OVERMATCH program, TEKEVER is fully committed to helping make this new, faster approach to defence innovation a reality.

Ricardo Mendes, CEO of TEKEVER, asserts that the future of Europe relies on more than just increased defence spending:

“We need to transform our industrial base and be smarter about investments. TEKEVER’s experience deploying autonomous systems in Ukraine has shown us that the future of defence is about agility more than anything.

That’s why we are launching our new strategy focused on establishing a defence innovation ecosystem that empowers companies of all sizes to innovate at pace and scale with the shared mission of securing the future of Europe.”

John Ridge, Chief Adoption Officer at the NATO Innovation Fund has been a fan of Tekever since my time as the Director of Innovation in the UK Ministry of Defence.

“Their mission focus and adaptability made them one of the most successful drone providers into Ukraine through Task Force Kindred. Their offering of uncrewed surveillance solutions has been instrumental in helping Ukraine counter Russian aggression by continuously innovating at the pace of conflict.

We are committed to fully supporting Tekever's Project Overmatch.”

Chris Evdaimon, Investment Manager, Private Companies at Baillie Gifford, commented: “The global defence and security landscape is rapidly changing and TEKEVER is well-placed to capture the opportunities emerging in this sector.

About TEKEVER

TEKEVER is a Portuguese company that makes drones and related software. These drones, also known as UAVs are used for both military and business purposes. The company offers different types of drones and data tools for tasks like surveillance, security, and other missions.