TEKEVER raises $580M Series D at $6.4B valuation for AI-powered autonomous systems

TEKEVER announced the first close of a $580 million Series D valuing the AI-powered autonomous systems company at $6.4 billion, led by UC Investments and Baillie Gifford, shortly after the UK Army selected its AR5 system for the CORVUS surveillance programme.

FINANCE desk — Europe is writing big checks for AI that flies itself; TEKEVER just turned Ukraine flight hours and a UK Army programme into a $6.4B valuation, so the autonomous-systems arms race is now a private-markets story as much as a battlefield one.

Who wrote the checks. UC Investments, the University of California’s investment office, and Baillie Gifford led the round. The release says this is UC Investments’ first direct investment in Europe. Direct means the university’s own money into the company, not a fund that then invested. Merlyn Advisors joined as a new strategic investor. Crescent Cove, Ventura Capital, and Iberis Capital were already shareholders, and they continued. The release says this first close covers the majority of the fundraise, and that more Series D closings are expected over the coming months for new strategic investors. Majority means more than half of the planned money is in. The page does not print how many dollars are still open. Do not invent that remainder.

What the company says the money is for. The release says the financing supports the next phase of growth: deepen an international presence, expand industrial and technological capabilities, accelerate strategic acquisitions, and build on its place as a leading European technology company in AI-powered autonomous systems. Autonomous, here, means a machine that can fly and take some steps without a person steering every moment. An acquisition is buying another company. The release does not name a target. Do not invent one.

The round follows a British Army programme. The release says the announcement comes shortly after the UK Ministry of Defence selected TEKEVER to deliver CORVUS, the British Army’s new surveillance capability, worth up to £400 million over ten years. Surveillance, in that sentence, means watching and reporting. The release does not describe CORVUS as a weapon. Up to £400 million is a ceiling across a decade. It is not a check that cleared today, and it is not this Series D. CORVUS is built on the AR5, which the release calls battle-proven, with AI-enabled autonomy. The release says the programme combines operational experience, that autonomy, sovereign industrial capability, and continuous technology evolution. Sovereign, here, means a country can build and keep the system itself. CNBC, on the same announcement, says TEKEVER said in July that the ministry had selected it, and converts the ceiling to around $530 million. July, and that dollar figure, are CNBC’s. The newsroom does not print them.

What the aircraft is. The AR5 is TEKEVER’s larger unmanned aircraft. Unmanned means no pilot sits in it. The photo on this filing is the company’s own AR5 in flight, with TEKEVER and AR5 on the wings. Tech.eu, writing the same day, says the AR5 can fly for up to around 20 hours and carry up to 50 kg of payload. Payload is the sensors and other gear it lifts. Those flight and weight lines are Tech.eu’s. This desk did not find them on the newsroom page. Tech.eu calls TEKEVER Portuguese-founded, and says it is not simply a drone maker: it builds the aircraft, the sensors, the communications, the AI and data processing, and the ground-control software so a customer can collect and read intelligence in real time. CNBC calls the company Portuguese-British. CNBC also says TEKEVER says its systems have logged more than 50,000 operational flight hours in Ukraine since 2022. That hour count is the company’s claim as CNBC reports it. The newsroom page this desk read does not print 50,000. This desk did not audit a flight log. The release is datelined London and lists a Bristol address under the UK and a Lisbon address under Portugal. This desk did not see a registry extract that names one city as the legal headquarters.

What the people in charge said. Ricardo Mendes, founder and chief executive, said the investment is “far more than a capital raise,” and called UC Investments choosing TEKEVER for its first direct European investment “a powerful endorsement” of the technology, the team, and the long-term vision. He said Baillie Gifford “continues to be a fantastic partner,” that Merlyn Advisors adds “significant strategic expertise,” and that the money gives TEKEVER “the resources to move faster, scale further and continue building a global technology leader from Europe.” Jagdeep Singh Bachher, the University of California’s chief investment officer, said UC Investments looks for “technical depth and the ability to execute at scale,” and that TEKEVER has built a platform “over more than two decades” with a record of operational success. Chris Evdaimon, investment manager for private companies at Baillie Gifford, called the model “vertically integrated” and “software-centric,” which means the aircraft and the software are one stack, and said TEKEVER has become “one of the defining technology companies in European dual use and autonomy.” Dual use means a tool that can serve a military job and a civilian job. Sir Ben Wallace, portfolio manager at Merlyn Advisors and a former UK defence secretary, said Europe’s security will depend on companies that can “innovate at speed, scale industrially and deliver capabilities that respond to real operational needs,” and that TEKEVER’s record shows it can do all three. The release also quotes Jun Hong Heng of Crescent Cove, Diogo Chalbert Santos of Iberis Capital, and Mo El Husseiny of Ventura Capital. Those lines are the release’s. This desk did not interview them.

PRIMARY here: TEKEVER’s 23 Sep 2026 newsroom release, datelined London — Tier A PRIMARY, the company’s own record. The page did not print an hour. CNBC’s same-day story is an independent report of the announcement, including the Ukraine flight-hour claim and a July date for the CORVUS selection. Tech.eu’s same-day story is an independent write-up that calls the company Portuguese-founded and describes the AR5’s endurance and payload. Its standfirst prints “S$6.4B.” This desk does not treat that mark as Singapore dollars. The newsroom figure is US$6.4 billion. The US$580 million first close, the US$6.4 billion valuation, UC Investments and Baillie Gifford as leads, the first-direct-Europe line, Merlyn Advisors as a new investor, Crescent Cove, Ventura Capital, and Iberis Capital continuing, the majority-of-the-fundraise line, the use of proceeds, the CORVUS selection at up to £400 million over ten years, the AR5 and AI-enabled autonomy description, and the Mendes, Bachher, Evdaimon, Wallace, Heng, Santos, and El Husseiny quotes are the release’s. The 50,000 flight hours, the July selection timing, the about-$530 million conversion, and Portuguese-British are CNBC’s. Portuguese-founded, the not-only-a-drone-maker description, and the about-20-hour and 50 kg lines are Tech.eu’s. NOT claimed: a single legal headquarters this desk verified, that the rest of the Series D has closed, a named acquisition target, that £400 million has been paid, that this desk audited flight hours or a cap table, that Tech.eu’s S$ mark is the valuation currency, a stock tip, or investment advice. Distinct from the already-filed brahma-ai-150m, basecamp-research-140m, and sprind-nadi-ai-chip-design.