Tekever, the autonomous air systems startup, has added more money to the massive Series D of $580 million that it first revealed in September. Denmark’s Export and Investment Fund (EIFO) is making an investment of an undisclosed amount into the round as part of a new closing, the Portuguese-founded startup said.
As with all of EIFO’s bets, the funding is strategic: it comes with Tekever setting up an “operational presence” in Odense, Denmark, to build out a wider Nordic business. The company is in the early stages of doing that: it is currently setting up a local entity and starting recruitment. This will add to operations Tekever already has in Portugal, the UK, France, Germany, Estonia, and (as of this month) Germany.
Along with not revealing the amount of investment, Tekever also declined to comment on whether its valuation is shifting beyond the $6.4 billion figure it announced in September. We are still trying to find this out, but for some context:
— The EIFO has been known to do a range of deals and lately it’s been doubling down on resilience and defence in a big way. “EIFO is supporting TEKEVER’s continued growth while bringing a leading European defence company closer to Denmark,” Peder Lundquist, CEO at EIFO, said in a statement.
— These deals have ranged from writing very small checks for early stage startups, such as in a seed round real estate tech startup Cortas in late October, through to financing up to as much as 1 billion kroner (€150 million) for later-stage companies and bigger infrastructure plays to promote more business in Denmark.
— One example of the latter, also from October 2026, was a DKK750 million investment into the very hot Ukrainian startup Fire Point, which plans to build out a major production facility in Denmark.
The size of the original Series D, and the fact that this new investment is meriting its own separate announcement, are good indicators that this is more in the financial range of the latter, larger rounds.
That being said, Tekever is keeping its options open regarding it will do Denmark.
We don’t know if the operation will include production, or R&D, or business development and sales, or a combination of some or all of these.
“[Tekever] will develop its operational presence in phases, in response to demand and approvals,” a statement from the company notes.
Odense, where Tekever is setting up shop, will potentially give it the options to build out in all three areas. The region has roots as an industrial shipping hub and some of that has been leveraged into a number of 21st century, tech-focused pursuits. It’s particularly strong in drones and robotics companies and is also home to a UAS international test centre, as well as the University of Southern Denmark’s drone centre and flight lab.
“Establishing our first operational presence in Denmark gives Tekever a platform to work with customers and partners across the region,” said Ricardo Mendes, Tekever’s CEO and co-founder, in a statement. “EIFO’s investment as part of a new closing of our Series D is an important milestone. The support of Odense Municipality and our progress with local partners are concrete steps in our Danish expansion. We will develop our operational presence in phases, in response to demand and approvals. Denmark’s strengths in drone testing, robotics and research create a strong foundation for collaboration. Over time, we aim to contribute to Danish sovereign industrial and technological capabilities and the wider Nordic region.”
