Portuguese drone maker Tekever becomes a unicorn valued above $1 billion

In May 2023, Tekever, a drone manufacturer based in Lisbon, announced that it had reached unicorn status, meaning a private company valued at more than $1 billion. The company said the valuation followed a new round of investment and reflected rising demand for its unmanned aircraft.

Tekever was founded in 2001 and grew from a technology consultancy into a maker of long-endurance surveillance drones. Its AR3 and larger AR5 systems were used for maritime monitoring, border security and military reconnaissance, including by European agencies and by armed forces. The war in Ukraine had increased interest across Europe in uncrewed systems for intelligence gathering.

The milestone mattered because Tekever was described as one of the first Portuguese defence technology companies to reach that valuation. It gave the firm resources to expand production and open sites abroad, a strategy that later led it to build manufacturing capacity in France, including the factory at Cahors.