Tekever closes $580M Series D at $6.4B, eyes defense M&A
TL;DR
- UC Investments' participation is its first direct European investment, opening a new channel of US endowment capital into EU defense tech at scale.
- The $580M is described as a first close with additional closings planned, meaning the final round size and valuation ceiling remain open.
- Multiple outlets cite 50,000+ operational flight hours in Ukraine since 2022 as the primary investor rationale, ahead of any financial metrics.
Portuguese drone maker Tekever closed the first tranche of a Series D at $580 million, valuing the company at $6.4 billion, and its founder is already pointing the balance sheet at rivals. UC Investments, the University of California's investment arm, and Baillie Gifford led the round, with Merlyn Advisors, Crescent Cove, Ventura Capital and Iberis Capital also participating, Bloomberg reported. It is UC Investments' first direct investment in Europe.
"The fund raise is precisely designed to support that growth, not only organically, developing new technology, but through acquisitions," founder and CEO Ricardo Mendes told Bloomberg, adding that he expects "tremendous consolidation" in defense tech over the next few years.
The pitch to investors leans hard on Ukraine. Tekever says its AI-powered surveillance drones have logged more than 50,000 operational flight hours there since Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022. The UK Ministry of Defence has picked the company to supply CORVUS, the British Army's new surveillance capability, under a programme worth up to £400 million over ten years and built on Tekever's AR5 platform.
Mendes framed the raise in near-sovereignty terms in a company statement: "scientific excellence, artificial intelligence, autonomy and sovereign technological capability will be fundamental to the security and resilience of democratic societies in the decades ahead." It arrives during a busy stretch on our military-AI tracker, with Ukraine-honed European suppliers repeatedly drawing US institutional capital this quarter.
What others are reporting
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Reuters Read →
Leads with Ukraine operational credibility as the investor thesis, framing the round as validation of combat-proven tech rather than a standard venture milestone.
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CNBC Read →
Positions Tekever within the AI defense-tech investment wave for a US finance audience, leading with the $6.4B headline valuation.
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Defence Industry Europe Read →
Adds Ben Wallace's public endorsement, foregrounds European sovereignty framing, and details the CORVUS contract as strategic validation beyond the funding numbers.
This investment represents far more than a capital raise. It brings together an exceptional group of investors around a shared ambition.
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Global Banking and Finance Review Read →
Highlights UC Investments' first-ever direct European investment as the headline institutional signal, and frames Tekever as a software-centric autonomous surveillance provider.
Tekever's software-centric model and operational experience had helped it rapidly translate technology into deployable capabilities.
Originally reported by bloomberg.com
Read the original article →Original headline: Tekever Raises $580M at $6.4B Valuation, Led by UC Investments and Baillie Gifford