EMBARGOED UNTIL 8:00 GMT, WEDNESDAY 20th NOVEMBER, 2024
TEKEVER RAISES 70 MILLION EUROS AND BRINGS STRATEGIC INVESTORS ON BOARD
Funding round led by Baillie Gifford and backed by the NATO Innovation Fund
New strategic investors will support sustainable growth plan and facilitate geographic expansion into priority markets
Investment will fund continued product innovation and scaling of production capacity
20 November 2024 – TEKEVER, the European market leader in Al-centric Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS), announces that it has raised 70 Million Euros in a funding round led by Baillie Gifford, the investment manager and early backer of Airbnb, Spotify and SpaceX, and the NATO Innovation Fund (NIF), a standalone venture capital fund, backed by 24 NATO allies, that deploys €1 billion in deep tech to advance defence, security and resilience.
Other participants in the funding round include the National Security Strategic Investment Fund (NSSIF), a UK government-owned fund supporting advanced technologies related to national security, Crescent Cove Advisors LP, an investment firm based in Silicon Valley with expertise in the defence sector, and existing investors lberis Semper and Cedrus Capital. TEKEVER was advised by The Growth Stage and Houlihan Lokey during the process.
The new investors bring strategic expertise that will fuel the next phase of TEKEVER’s growth. They provide significant sector experience and pathways to access priority markets, as well as boasting a strong track record of sustainably scaling pioneering, fast-growing companies over the long-term. Their experience will be critical in helping TEKEVER prepare for the next phases of its multinational growth strategy.
As part of its growth plan, TEKEVER, which is already profitable, will accelerate investment in R&D to support product innovation, both enhancing current UAS and developing new product lines to ensure its technology stays ahead of curve in the rapidly evolving technical landscape and its products continue to exceed customer expectations. TEKEVER will also expand its global production, delivery and support footprint to meet the ever-increasing demand for its products and services.
Ricardo Mendes, CEO of TEKEVER, commented: “We’re living in a highly volatile world, experiencing exponential change and the transformative power of software, Al and robotics. TEKEVER was built to embrace and leverage this reality, providing its customers with future-proofed, Al-centric hardware enabled systems that are produced at scale and effectively delivered and sustained globally. For our Series B, more than investment, we wanted to find partners that shared these beliefs and could help us execute on our vision. We’re thrilled to have Baillie Gifford as a lead investor – an incredible organization with extremely long-term views, and an extensive track record of backing companies that have profoundly transformed our society. 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.”
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 start-ups. 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 from operations in Ukraine and its work with the UK Home Office and European Maritime Safety Agency.”
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 – 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” TEKEVER provides drone-based Intelligence-as-a-Service, surveying ultra-wide areas and sharing real time data that allows customers to act in a timely and efficient manner to avoid threats to human life, the environment and economy. 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.
Unlike traditional aerospace companies, TEKEVER is vertically integrated and has full control of every aspect of its subsystems and value chain, from airframe design and manufacturing to payloads, avionics, software, data and Al, which enables the company to rapidly adapt its products based on evolving customer needs and shifts in the global economic and political landscape.
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.
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Note to Editors Media contacts
Tekever@fticonsulting.com
Quotes from investors
- A spokesperson from the National Security Strategic Investment Fund (NSSIF) said: “We are delighted to support TEKEVER in their latest round of funding. NSSIF was established to catalyse the development and adoption of advanced technology to our national security and defence partners. This investment in TEKEVER recognises the company’s leading role in the market and we look forward to supporting their next stage of growth.”
- “We believe TEKEVER’s robust vertical integration and Al-first approach leverages the platform’s agnostic command and control platform to create compound effects on mission capabilities and cost,” said Jun Hong Heng, Founder and Chief Investment Officer of Crescent Cove Advisors LP. “We are thrilled to be part of TEKEVER’s next phase of growth and look forward to supporting TEKEVER’s future in the defence technology space.”
- Diogo Chalbert Santos from lberis said: “We are proud to continue to support TEKEVER’s growth and delighted to see firsthand the phenomenal work the company is doing on a fast paced environment.”
About TEKEVER
TEKEVER develops and operates unmanned aerial systems (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.
TEKEVER is market leader in advanced unmanned aerial technology systems for maritime surveillance. It builds multiple types of drones around an Al-centric platform that combines Edge Al, satellite communications and cloud computing to provide customers with real time information and advanced analytics over simple to use and globally accessible web and mobile interfaces.
TEKEVER is also a recognized 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.
TEKEVER maintains research and development, engineering, and production facilities in Portugal, France, and the United Kingdom, collaborating closely with a global network of partners to offer local support to customers worldwide. For additional information, please visit our website at www.TEKEVER.com.
About our investors Baillie Gifford
Baillie Gifford is an independent investment partnership founded over a century ago in Edinburgh, Scotland. It is owned and run by 58 partners who all work at the firm. The firm’s mission is to find game-changing companies (both public and private) that can sustain growth and provide returns for clients over five to ten years and longer. With 1,708 staff and assets under management of €263bn, it has 10 offices worldwide.
NATO Investment Fund
The NATO Innovation Fund is a venture capital fund, backed by 24 NATO Allies, that deploys more than
€1 billion in deep tech to address challenges in defence, security, and resilience. The fund invests independently, with 24 nations supporting its portfolio’s success and helping provide deep tech entrepreneurs with access to both commercial and government markets.
Participating NATO Allies are: Belgium; Bulgaria; Czechia; Denmark; Estonia; Finland; Germany; Greece; Hungary; Iceland; Italy; Latvia; Lithuania; Luxembourg; Netherlands; Norway; Poland; Portugal; Romania; Slovakia; Spain; Sweden; Turkiye; United Kingdom.
Crescent Cove Advisors LP
Crescent Cove Advisors, LP is a private market investment firm focused on technology investments and dedicated to supporting entrepreneurs and founders. Established in 2016, Crescent Cove leverages its global network of relationships and unique insight across markets, emerging industries and technologies to build businesses and accelerate value creation across its portfolios. For more information, visit www.crescentcove.com.
The National Security Strategic Investment Fund (NSSIF)
The National Security Strategic Investment Fund (NSSIF) is the UK Government’s corporate venturing arm for dual-use advanced technologies. NSSIF invests commercially in advanced technology firms, alongside other investors, supporting long-term equity investment – ‘patient capital’ – and harnesses the Government’s unique technology expertise. Its objectives include accelerating the adoption of HMG’s future national security and defence capabilities and the development of the UK’s dual-use technology ecosystem.
lberis Capital
lberis Capital is a leading private equity and venture capital manager in Portugal. lberis invests across different stages, from seed capital to growth and buy-out in companies and teams with global focus and disruptive mindset.