Tekever hits $6.4bn as the Army's new spy drone takes off
Drone maker Tekever has raised $580m at a $6.4bn valuation, days after signing to replace the British Army's Watchkeeper. The UK link is real. Some of the headline numbers need a closer look.
Tekever, the drone maker whose aircraft have flown over Ukraine and the English Channel, has raised $580 million at a valuation of $6.4 billion. The money, announced on Wednesday, is the first close of a Series D round led by UC Investments, the University of California's investment arm, and the fund manager Baillie Gifford. It comes days after Tekever signed a contract to build the British Army's next surveillance drone.
The fund raise is precisely designed to support that growth, not only organically, developing new technology, but through acquisitions.
— Ricardo Mendes, Tekever chief executive, via The Next Web
From Lisbon start-up to $6.4 billion
Tekever was founded in Lisbon in 2001 by Ricardo Mendes. Reuters now describes it as headquartered in Britain. It became a "unicorn", a start-up worth more than $1 billion, in May 2025. Tech Funding News reports that the valuation has nearly quintupled since.
Alongside the lead investors, the round includes a new strategic backer, Merlyn Advisors, where former UK Defence Secretary Sir Ben Wallace works as a portfolio manager. Returning investors include Crescent Cove, Ventura Capital and Iberis Capital. More closings are expected over the coming months.
According to Reuters, the money will go on international expansion, more manufacturing, acquisitions and "AI-powered autonomous systems". Tekever likes to present itself as a provider of autonomous surveillance, not just a maker of aircraft. Reuters also reports more than 50,000 operational flight hours in Ukraine since 2022.
The British Army's new eye in the sky
The UK angle here is unusually concrete. In July the Ministry of Defence picked Tekever's AR5 for Project Corvus, the replacement for the Army's troubled Watchkeeper drone. FlightGlobal reports the contract was signed on 21 September. The MoD's own figures:
- Up to £400 million over ten years.
- An initial six aircraft, rising to up to 24 by 2029.
- Entry into service planned for later in 2026.
- Built at Tekever's soon-to-open factory in Swindon, supporting jobs in South West England and Wales.
Defence Secretary Wes Streeting called the AR5 "proven in Ukraine and designed to protect British soldiers globally." According to The Register, it has a 7.3-metre wingspan, carries a 50kg payload and can stay up for as long as 20 hours.
The bar it has to clear isn't high. Watchkeeper entered service in 2014 and was meant to last until 2042. The Register counts at least seven lost in incidents, and notes it spent most of its life on training rather than operations. Its early retirement was announced in 2024.
Two £400 million numbers, one company
Tekever already had a UK presence before Corvus. It opened a site at West Wales Airport in Aberporth in 2023 for testing and flight operations, and Tech Funding News reports its drones are used by the Home Office to patrol the Channel. The government's National Security Strategic Investment Fund put money into an earlier €70 million round alongside the NATO Innovation Fund.
Watch out for a confusing coincidence. In May 2025 Tekever itself pledged a separate £400 million, five-year UK investment programme, promising more than 1,000 high-skilled jobs. That's the company's commitment. Corvus is the government's spending. Both happen to be £400 million, and some coverage blurs them. Neither figure is guaranteed: Corvus is "up to" £400 million, and the jobs pledge is a pledge.
To be fair to Tekever
Plenty of defence start-ups have big valuations and not much hardware in service. Tekever isn't one of them. Its drones have been used in a real war for years, and the British Army chose them in a competitive process. Baillie Gifford's Chris Evdaimon says its experience in "demanding real-world environments provides a depth of learning that is extremely difficult to replicate," and that's hard to argue with. It's also still small next to its rivals. Tech Funding News puts Helsing at $18 billion and Quantum Systems at $8 billion in Europe, and the US company Anduril at $61 billion.
Mind the hype. Watchkeeper was meant to last until 2042. Let's see if its replacement makes it past the press release.
Sources: Global Banking & Finance (via Reuters), The Next Web, Tech Funding News, Ministry of Defence (via Wired-Gov), The Register, FlightGlobal, NSSIF, Tekever (May 2025), Tekever (Wales site)