TEKEVER

TEKEVER is a Portuguese-founded defence and aerospace company that develops AI-enabled unmanned aerial systems (UAS) together with the sensors, communications and data-processing software used to operate them. Founded in Lisbon in 2001 and led by founder and CEO Ricardo Mendes, it sells both aircraft and surveillance-as-a-service for military and civilian missions such as battlefield intelligence, maritime patrol, border surveillance and search and rescue. Its fleet includes the AR3 and AR3 EVO vertical take-off reconnaissance drones, the long-range AR5 and the larger ARX, a multi-mission platform in testing. The AR3 and AR5 are in service with Ukraine's armed forces, and the AR3 is the aircraft behind the Royal Air Force's StormShroud programme. TEKEVER manufactures in Portugal, the UK and France, and is opening a production site in Swindon as part of its £400 million Overmatch investment programme in the UK. In 2026 the UK Ministry of Defence selected it to deliver CORVUS, a British Army surveillance capability worth up to £400 million over ten years. It passed a $1 billion valuation in 2025 and in September 2026 announced the first close of a $580 million Series D at a $6.4 billion valuation, led by UC Investments and Baillie Gifford.

Keywords: unmanned aerial systems, UAS, drones, military drones, autonomous systems, artificial intelligence, defence technology, dual-use, ISR, intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance, maritime surveillance, border security, surveillance-as-a-service, aerospace