European aerospace company TEKEVER has raised €70m ($73.72m) in a funding round led by Baillie Gifford and backed by the NATO Innovation Fund.  

This funding will support TEKEVER's plans to accelerate research and development and expand its global production and delivery capabilities to meet growing demand for its drone technology. 

Other participants in the funding round include the National Security Strategic Investment Fund, Crescent Cove Advisors, and existing investors Iberis Semper and Cedrus Capital.  

TEKEVER received advisory support from The Growth Stage and Houlihan Lokey. 

NATO Investment Fund partner Patrick Schneider-Sikorsky said: “We are thrilled to support TEKEVER – whose technology is revolutionising the defence and commercial intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance sectors – and look forward to collaborating with the company on identifying pathways to use its technology in order to support more governments and businesses across the Alliance.” 

The new investors bring expertise and experience to TEKEVER, offering pathways to access priority markets.  

This strategic investment will enable the company to enhance its current uncrewed aerial systems and develop new product lines. 

TEKEVER provides drone-based Intelligence-as-a-Service, surveying large areas and sharing real-time data to help customers act efficiently.  

Its technology is dual use, serving civilian and military organisations, with applications in environmental monitoring, intelligence gathering, and search and rescue missions. 

The company is vertically integrated, controlling every aspect of its subsystems and value chain, from airframe design to software and AI.  

This allows TEKEVER to rapidly adapt its products to evolving customer needs and global changes.  

Customers include the European Maritime Safety Agency, the UK Home Office, and various defence forces across Europe, North America, and Southeast Asia. 

TEKEVER CEO Ricardo Mendes said: “For our Series B, more than investment, we wanted to find partners that shared these beliefs and could help us execute on our vision.  

“NIF, NSSIF and Crescent Cove bring profound knowledge and experience on the Global Security and Defence market to the table, both from a European and a US perspective, which will be important in helping us, and our customers, navigate the challenges ahead.” 

TEKEVER's systems have been deployed in Ukraine for complex long-range intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance missions under extreme conditions.