Tekever raises €580 million at €6.4 billion valuation

Tekever has announced a €580 million first close of its Series D funding round, valuing the autonomous-systems company at €6.4 billion. The financing was led by UC Investments and Baillie Gifford, with Merlyn Advisors joining as a new strategic investor and existing shareholders also participating. The round is not described as fully closed; Tekever expects additional closings to bring in further strategic investors. The company said it will use the proceeds to expand internationally, increase manufacturing and technology capacity, pursue acquisitions and accelerate development of artificial-intelligence-driven autonomous systems. The financing gives Tekever additional resources as it seeks to grow beyond its existing operations and compete for longer-term government programmes. Tekever, founded in Portugal in 2001 and now headquartered in Britain, develops autonomous surveillance systems that combine unmanned aircraft with software and intelligence capabilities. The company presents itself as more than an aircraft manufacturer, describing an integrated system for collecting and processing information from aerial operations.