Ricardo Mendes, CEO of Portuguese drone unicorn Tekever (€1.2B valuation), says the company’s path from academia to the front lines of Ukraine was anything but planned. Founded in 2001 outside the defense sector, Tekever only turned to autonomous systems years later, realizing software, AI, and data — not hardware alone — would define the future.
Invited by the UK Ministry of Defence, Tekever adapted its civilian surveillance technology to modern warfare, where low-cost drones can neutralize million-euro assets. Ukraine, Mendes admits, is different from other conflicts: the moral line is clear, and the emotional toll is real, with colleagues and partners directly affected by the war.
Despite operating in defense, Tekever positions itself as a technology and data company, not a weapons manufacturer — a distinction that has helped attract investors like Baillie Gifford and the NATO Innovation Fund. Mendes believes Portugal has everything it needs to succeed in this sector: top-tier talent, long-term vision, and the ability to build globally competitive technology where failure is not an option.
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