Tekever hits $6.4 billion valuation with $580 million Series D raise

On September 23, 2026, Tekever announced a $580 million first close of its Series D at a $6.4 billion valuation. UC Investments and Baillie Gifford led the round. Merlyn Advisors joined as a new strategic investor; existing backers Crescent Cove, Ventura Capital and Iberis Capital also participated. The deal is UC Investments' first direct investment in Europe. Founded in Portugal in 2001, the company is now headquartered in Britain. Founder and CEO Ricardo Mendes said the raise "represents far more than a capital raise" and "gives us the resources to move faster, scale further and continue building a global technology leader from Europe." Jagdeep Singh Bachher of UC Investments said Tekever "has built an exceptional technology platform over more than two decades with a proven record of operational success." Chris Evdaimon of Baillie Gifford called Tekever "one of the defining technology companies in European dual use and autonomy." Tekever has logged more than 50,000 operational flight hours in Ukraine since 2022. In July the UK Ministry of Defence selected it for CORVUS, a surveillance programme based on Tekever's AR5 system and worth up to £400 million (~$530 million) over 10 years. No factual disputes found in the record.