Company
TEKEVER
Portuguese dual-use drone company producing AI-driven unmanned aerial systems for defense and commercial applications.
- Founded
- 2001
- HQ
- Portugal
- Status
- Private
CategoryDrones
Overview
Portuguese dual-use drone company producing AI-driven unmanned aerial systems for defense and commercial applications. Confirmed as Europe's newest unicorn, investing 400M GBP in the UK to drive AI-driven defence. Raised 70M EUR (74M USD) Series B in November 2024 led by Baillie Gifford and NATO Innovation Fund, followed by 530M USD in May 2025. Total funding 604M USD.
Reality check
Focus (company-claimed)
AI-enabled unmanned aerial systems for surveillance, defense, maritime and SAR.
Portuguese Air Force (company-claimed)
Contract to supply the AR5 unmanned system.
Verified record
- Verified deployments
- 3 deployments on file
- Active incidents
- None on file
Key facts
Founded
HQ
Funding (reported, May 2025)
Investorssee investors →
UK MoD
Data & sources
Web sources
4
4 sources backing this record.View all →
Models (1)
View all models →TEKEVER on the deployment map
View the global map3 verified deployments across 2 regions, newest verified Aug 2026. Explore where TEKEVER's robots are operating, by place and type.
View the full TEKEVER deployment record →
Relationships
Current leadership (1)
- Ricardo Mendes CEOsecondary-verified
Safety record
No incidents on record for TEKEVER.
Only active incidents are counted. Retracted incidents are excluded from this summary but remain reachable at their canonical URLs.
Full safety record: incidents, sourcing, and exposure data →
Operator customers (1)
- TEKEVER3 deployments
Recent coverage
TEKEVER in third-party press
Peer companies
- Amazon25 models
- DJI9 models
- Anduril Industries7 models
- Skydio6 models
- Autel Robotics4 models
- Baykar4 models
Mentioned on (1)
Registry pages whose text names TEKEVER.
People (1)
Financial state
- Total funding
- $604.0M
Each numeric field carries its own basis marker. Aggregators report a number; this surface preserves the source class so verification depth travels with the value.
Funding rounds (2)
TEKEVER’s 2 disclosed rounds, $604M in total, oldest to newest.
- Series C2025-05-20
$530M(reported)
Investors: NATO Innovation Fund, Baillie Gifford (lead)
- Series B2024-11-19
$74M(reported)
Timeline
Every recorded move in TEKEVER’s history, most recent first: funding rounds, partnerships, acquisitions, supply-chain starts, key hires, and press.
Funding roundSeries C funding round
2025-05-20Series C raising $530000000
Funding roundSeries B funding round
2024-11-19Series B raising $74000000
Recent activity
Every change to this record is dated, sourced, and independently verified where marked.
- Record createdAug 7, 2026
Added to the verified registry
- Deployment verifiedVerifiedAug 1, 2026
AR5 at United Kingdom
- Deployment verifiedVerifiedAug 1, 2024
AR5 at Gulf of Genoa, Italy
- Deployment verifiedVerifiedJan 1, 2023
AR5 at English Channel (Dover/Lydd, UK)
Sources (4)
Common questions
What is TEKEVER?
What does TEKEVER make?
Is TEKEVER publicly traded?
Who competes with TEKEVER?
Who is the CEO of TEKEVER?
How can I invest in TEKEVER?
Where is TEKEVER headquartered?
How much funding has TEKEVER raised?
Who owns TEKEVER?
Where does TEKEVER operate robots?
How many robots has TEKEVER deployed?
Is TEKEVER a top robotics company?
When was TEKEVER founded?
Is TEKEVER safe?
Methodology: Verified · 4 sources (no primary) · last reviewed 2026-10-21
Verification posture
Verified
Low confidence
Review state
Stable
Last reviewed 2026-10-21
Sources by quality tier
- 4
- unclassified
- Unclassified source
The framework is documented at /methodology. Corrections at /corrections. Reviewer: DEPLOY editorial team.
Methodology surface for TEKEVER.Peer companies
- Amazon25 models
- DJI9 models
- Anduril Industries7 models
- Skydio6 models
- Autel Robotics4 models
- Baykar4 models
In the press
Recent coverage mentioning TEKEVER from third-party publications. Automatically surfaced; not part of the verified registry record.
USSOCOM buys Tekever uncrewed aerial systems after validation trials
Tekever has confirmed that the US Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) has purchased its uncrewed aerial systems (UAS) following a programme of validation and acceptance testing.
Tekever secures US Special Operations Command drone deal
Tekever has secured a deal to supply uncrewed aerial systems (UAS) to the United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM), marking another step in the European defence…
USSOCOM Purchases TEKEVER UAS for Aerial Intelligence Missions
The United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) has purchased unmanned aerial systems from TEKEVER following an extensive programme of validation, … mehr... The post…
German Army gets its first heavy-lift cargo drone
The German Army has received its first heavy-lift cargo drone, with the 131st Supply Battalion in Bad Frankenhausen, Thuringia, taking delivery of an uncrewed aircraft from…
Drone Maker Tekever Is Now Worth €5.5 Billion
Europe’s defense boom has a new star, and for once it isn’t German. Portuguese-British drone start-up Tekever has just raised about €500 million ($580 million) in a Series D round…
AI drone startup Tekever raises $580M at $6.4B valuation as Europe ramps up defense tech spending
European autonomous systems startup Tekever has raised $580 million in the first close of a Series D round at a $6.4 billion valuation, giving the Portuguese-British company fresh…
Tekever raises US$580 million at US$6.4 billion valuation as investors back expansion in AI powered autonomous defence systems
Tekever has raised US$580 million in the first close of a Series D financing round that values the AI-powered autonomous systems company at US$6.4 billion
Tekever raises $580M at a $6.8B valuation to give flight to more drones
Another huge fundraise has landed in the world of European defence tech. Tekever, the autonomous air systems startup founded in Portugal, has raised $580 million — a Series D…
TEKEVER raises $580M Series D at $6.4B valuation
TEKEVER, provider of AI-powered autonomous systems, today announced the first close of its $580 million Series D financing, valuing the company at S$6.4 billion.TEKEVER is a…
Drone Maker Tekever Seeks Deals After New Round’s First Close
Tekever, a Portuguese developer of surveillance drones, is seeking acquisitions after the first close of a funding round that targets raising $580 million.
Tekever acquires Flowcopter following AR6 reveal
Portugal’s leading UAS builder, Tekever, has acquired Scotland’s Flowcopter according to a 1 September press release.
Tekever acquires Flowcopter following AR6 reveal
Portugal’s leading UAS builder, Tekever, has acquired Scotland’s Flowcopter according to a 1 September press release. The post Tekever acquires Flowcopter following AR6 reveal…
Machine-readable surfaces
- Markdown mirror: /companies/tekever.md
- RSS feed: /companies/tekever/feed.xml
- JSON-LD: embedded in this page’s head
- REST API: /v1/companies/c40cb161-bb24-4ecc-bf5b-7aa1dcdbe38f
- Revision history: /companies/tekever/history
- Data documentation: /data
- Query this programmatically: Deploy MCP
Peer companies
- Amazon25 models
- DJI9 models
- Anduril Industries7 models
- Skydio6 models
- Autel Robotics4 models
- Baykar4 models
Video
TEKEVER – AI-ENABLED UAS FOR LONG-ENDURANCE MARITIME & TERRAIN INSIGHT Tekever develops intelligent unmanned aerial systems equipped with AI/ML, satellite comms, and powerful sensing to deliver real-time intelligence ac
UST visited the FlyPT stand at Farnborough International Airshow 2024 to find out more about the innovative research and development project that aims to push t
Unveiling TEKEVER's ARX UAS: Europe's Game-Changing Swarm Drone! At Xponential 2024 TEKEVER unveiled their upcoming ARX UAS - its largest, most advanced drone
At the @XPONENTIALEurope 2025, DroneTalks Co-founder & CEO, Eszter Kovács, visited @TEKEVER. booth to explore their latest advancements in unmanned aerial syst
The Droning Company interviewed Ricardo Mendes, Co-Founder and CEO of Tekever at Xponential 2023 in Denver Colorado. During the interview, Ricardo told us all a
✈ TEKEVER was the first company to fly a drone at Farnborough International Air Show, in 2012, crossing airspace that had been traversed only by manned aircraft
Tekever AR4 Light Ray Evo performing flight tests in Colombia at high altitude in the mountainous region around Bogotá.
Video credit: Tekever
LIVE from AUVSI XPONENTIAL 2025 - Inside Unmanned Systems - Paulo Ferro - Tekever UAS SA #XPO25
Work by: TIAGO RENDEIRO CARVALHO Advisors: Carlos Marques, Diogo Lopes. Course: Aerospace Engineering Project (https://www.ua.pt/en/uc/15528) Degree: Bachelors
The Channel is All About Electronics & Computer Science Technology News And Samachar. @ElectronicsTechnology50
Heat Index
Category contender75/100
A composite of competitive footprint, funding, press velocity, active partnerships, and supply-chain edges. Different from the Intelligence score below (which is per-form-factor productization). Non-robotics companies cap at 25.
Reality vs attention
TEKEVER draws attention at the 83rd percentile but verifies reality at the 67th percentile among aerial robots. Hype Gap +16.4, 36th widest among aerial robots.
6-month trend
Analysis
Clean safety record across 3 verified deployments. Well-capitalized with $604M raised. Deployment footprint remains limited relative to category peers.
Signal flags
Dimension breakdown
Verified signal
Attention (reach, not merit)
DEPLOY Intelligence scores are computed from verified registry data: confirmed deployments, disclosed funding rounds, regulatory filings, active job listings, video viewership, and press coverage. Confidence ratings reflect data availability. Scores update nightly.
DEPLOY Indices — verified vs claimed
Last computed: Nov 5, 2026