LONDON, May 6. /TASS/. European investors have started putting money into two surveillance drone companies Quantum Systems and Tekever, the Financial Times (FT) newspaper said.
New investors are flocking to the market for defense or dual use technology, which can be used in both civilian applications and on the battlefield, the newspaper said. They are putting hundreds of millions of euros into German’s Quantum Systems and Portugal’s Tekever in deals that value each of the defense technology start-ups at more than 1 bln euros.
Demand has been such that Tekever has been "more than doubling" its production capacity every year, chief executive Ricardo Mendes told the FT, adding that this year the company expects to produce more than 200 systems. One of the biggest challenges is how quickly the industry can scale up, he noted. Two of the drones produced by the company, the AR3 and the AR5, have been used extensively in Ukraine, FT said.
Quantum Systems has raised 160 mln euros from the London-based venture fund Balderton Capital in its first defense tech investment, alongside strategic backers Hensoldt and Airbus Defence and Space, the publication said. The deal, which also includes existing investors including US venture capitalist Peter Thiel, values Quantum at more than 1 bln euros, people familiar with the terms told the newspaper.