In this episode of Tech Command Investing, I speak with Ricardo Mendes, CEO & Founder of TEKEVER, to explore one of Europe's most consequential defence-tech stories: how autonomous systems and AI-driven intelligence are reshaping modern security, sovereignty, and the future of European defence infrastructure.
Today, much of Europe's defence capability still relies on procurement cycles built for a different era slow-moving, asset-heavy, and optimised for stability over adaptability. Yet the nature of modern conflict has fundamentally changed.
Yet despite growing urgency, most Western nations remain far behind in integrating autonomous systems into their defence doctrine still purchasing platforms as fixed assets rather than evolving intelligence capabilities.
🎧 Listen now: | Amazon Music | Spotify | Apple Podcasts | YouTube | Audible |
Without a unified approach to autonomous intelligence, defence organisations remain exposed collecting valuable operational data that is often siloed, slow to act on, or lost entirely between procurement cycles.
TEKEVER is addressing this gap.
By building a fully vertically integrated capability owning hardware, software, AI, and operations within a single agile loop TEKEVER has created something rare in European defence: a company that can design, produce, and operate autonomous systems simultaneously, and iterate all three in near real time.
A single design improvement identified on the Ukrainian front line is no longer isolated.Feedback from operators flows directly to engineers, into production, and back into the field within weeks not years. This transforms product development from a linear process into a continuous intelligence loop.
Network effects are central to this model. As TEKEVER's operational footprint grows across geographies and domains maritime surveillance, border control, battlefield ISR, and now space-based radar the intelligence architecture becomes richer, faster, and more strategically valuable. Data is no longer static. It compounds.
In our conversation, Ricardo Mendes explains how software-first thinking is redefining what a defence company looks like. What was once built around platform stability is becoming built around platform evolution scalable, interoperable, and increasingly essential for national security and operational resilience.
This transition carries significant implications.From sovereign manufacturing and battlefield autonomy to space-based surveillance, real-time intelligence and rapid iteration are becoming foundational defence capabilities. Nations and organisations that can access, adapt, and act on this data will be better positioned to anticipate threats and respond effectively.
For investors, this represents a structural shift.What begins as a defence-tech play is rapidly expanding into a broader sovereign infrastructure thesis spanning AI, autonomy, manufacturing, and space with long-term strategic importance across Europe and its allies.
Key Takeaways
Autonomous systems as infrastructure Drones are no longer standalone platforms, they are part of a continuous intelligence architecture delivering real-time, actionable insights across domains.
Battlefield iteration at speed With over 50,000 combat ISR hours and 100+ design iterations in Ukraine, TEKEVER demonstrates how real-time feedback loops are redefining product development in defence.
Full-stack ownership as competitive edge Controlling hardware, software, AI, and operations within one agile loop enables rapid adaptation and a decisive advantage over traditional procurement models.
Sovereign capability at scale Project OVERMATCH a £400M commitment to UK-based manufacturing, R&D, and training reflects a broader European shift toward domestic defence infrastructure and strategic autonomy.
From air to orbit TEKEVER's selection by the French space agency CNES to build synthetic aperture radar antenna for France's sovereign satellite program signals the emergence of a multi-domain intelligence layer connecting drones, maritime surveillance, and satellite systems into one unified architecture.
A new investment thesis Defence, AI, and sovereignty are converging into a structural investment theme, driven by geopolitics, technological transformation, and the urgent need to rebuild Western resilience.
The future of European security may depend on something long underestimated:
the ability to iterate faster than the threat evolves.
By building a company that simultaneously designs, produces, and operates autonomous systems at scale and is now extending that capability into space, TEKEVER is redefining what European defence infrastructure looks like for the next generation.
Investing in Europe's Dual-Use Innovators At KARISTA, we're raising the successor K Tech II fund, focused on Defence, Space, and Security backing the pioneers bridging civilian and military innovation to strengthen resilience and sovereignty. Learn more →
