$10 million for drone navigation development. US-Ukrainian Vermeer attracts investment round from Draper Associates

Vermeer, an American-Ukrainian defense technology startup, announced the completion of its Series A funding round, raising a total of $10 million.

The additional funding was led by renowned venture capital firm Draper Associates.

• Vermeer, headquartered in New York with an operational unit in Kyiv, specializes in computer vision, navigation, and autonomy technologies for unmanned aerial vehicles.

• Vermeer’s key product is the Visual Positioning System (VPS). This technology allows drones and other aerial vehicles to accurately navigate in space even in conditions of complete suppression, jamming, or spoofing of GPS signals.

• Instead of satellite navigation, VPS uses up to four electro-optical or infrared cameras to analyze the surrounding environment. By comparing this visual data with a preloaded database of objects and 2D/3D maps, and using artificial intelligence, the system can accurately determine the location of the aircraft. Thanks to its passive operating principle, VPS is extremely reliable in combat zones.

Investment details

The funds raised will be used for further technological improvement and to meet growing customer needs.

In addition to Draper Associates, investors participating in the round include AeroX Ventures, Boscolo Intervest, High Point Ventures, Rockaway Ventures, and U.S. Air Force Techstars.

The company already has more than 30 customers, including the U.S. Army, U.S. Air Force, Lockheed Martin, and Northrop Grumman. Over the past year, Vermeer’s staff has grown from 10 to 40 employees, eight of whom work directly in Ukraine.

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