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Tekever Raises $580M in Series D Funding at $6.4 Billion Valuation
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Tekever Raises $580 Million in Series D at $6.4 Billion Valuation
Portugal-based autonomous defense technology company Tekever has raised $580 million in the first close of a Series D round, valuing the business at $6.4 billion. The financing underscores institutional appetite for companies developing AI-powered aircraft for demanding security missions. Tekever said it expects additional closings over the coming months as it brings in further strategic investors. The new capital will support international expansion, manufacturing, technology development and potential acquisitions.
UC Investments, making its first direct investment in Europe, led the financing alongside Baillie Gifford. Merlyn Advisors joined as a new strategic investor, while existing shareholders Crescent Cove, Ventura Capital and Iberis Capital also participated. The syndicate brings together a new institutional backer, a prominent growth investor and shareholders returning to support the next stage. For Tekever, that breadth suggests both external validation and shareholder confidence as it enters a more capital-intensive phase.
Tekever develops autonomous aircraft and uncrewed systems for defense and security users, applying artificial intelligence to missions that can involve contested, high-risk environments. Its operational experience in Ukraine has become central to the company’s engineering approach. The company says feedback from deployments has driven more than 100 changes to its aircraft. This focus on field use supports a commercial pitch built around systems adapted through repeated real-world operation.
According to Tekever, its autonomous systems have logged more than 50,000 operational flight hours in Ukraine since 2022. Its AR3 aircraft alone has recorded more than 10,000 of those hours, providing a substantial base of experience for further development. The company has also expanded its presence in the country through a Kyiv office. These figures are company-reported, so they offer evidence of claimed operational use rather than an independent assessment of mission effectiveness.
That operational history is also feeding into Tekever’s work with the U.K. Ministry of Defence. The company recently signed a contract worth worth up to £400 million over 10 years to provide AR5 uncrewed aircraft for Project CORVUS, the British Army’s new long-range intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capability. The agreement gives Tekever a major opportunity to translate experience in Ukraine into a large allied procurement program. It also positions the Portuguese supplier to deepen its presence in a strategically important market.
Together, the funding and the British contract reinforce a growth model in which operational data improves products and larger contracts finance further development. Capital for manufacturing and international expansion could help Tekever increase output while entering new markets, although ambitious targets will still depend on production and supply-chain execution. The investor lineup signals confidence, but the $6.4 billion valuation also raises expectations for sustained revenue growth and delivery performance. Investors will likely watch whether additional funding closings bring useful strategic capabilities, not simply more capital.
Tekever’s next phase will center on completing its Series D raise, scaling industrial capacity and delivering AR5 aircraft under Project CORVUS. The company is also considering acquisitions, leaving open the possibility that it will buy specialized technology or expand production capacity faster than internally. Further international contracts could broaden its customer base beyond Ukraine and the United Kingdom, while the Kyiv office and field feedback remain important engineering inputs. Ultimately, the financing gives Tekever considerable firepower, but sustained operational performance, manufacturing discipline and contract execution will determine whether its new valuation is justified.
