German drone startup Quantum Systems triples valuation to $3.5B after $180M funding round

Europe’s quiet drone race just got a lot louder. Munich-based drone startup Quantum Systems has tripled its valuation to roughly €3 billion, or about $3.5 billion, after closing a fresh €180 million funding round from Balderton Capital and other investors. The raise puts the nine-year-old company firmly in rare “triple unicorn” territory and sends a clear message that investors see AI-powered drones as more than hardware. They see them as critical infrastructure for a new era of security, surveillance, and autonomous intelligence.

The deal, which was shared by co-CEO Sven Kruck during a media call on Thursday and first reported by Bloomberg, comes only months after Quantum Systems crossed the $1 billion mark in May. Co-founder and co-CEO Florian Seibel described the milestone as more than a valuation update. “This triple unicorn status is a testament to our team’s ability to build systems and a company that performs in the most demanding real-world conditions,” he said in a statement.

“Quantum Systems, a German drone maker backed by Peter Thiel, boosted its valuation to €3 billion ($3.5 billion) in a new funding round as the defense startup plans to increase production capacity of unmanned aerial systems. The company raised €180 million from investors, including Balderton Capital, tripling its valuation from a May round, Bloomberg reported,” citing co-Chief Executive Officer Sven Kruckin’s call with journalists on Thursday.

Quantum Systems Raises €180M, Becomes Europe’s $3.5B Drone Powerhouse

Founded in 2015 by aerospace engineers Florian Seibel, Armin Busse, and Tobias Kloss, the Peter Thiel-backed Quantum Systems didn’t start as a defense player. Its earliest products were aimed at civilian uses like mapping farmland and scanning construction sites. That changed after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, when demand for dual-use technology surged. The company shifted focus toward drones that could serve both commercial industries and government missions without changing their core DNA.

Two products define that shift. The Trinity drone, built around an electric vertical takeoff and landing design, is used for geospatial surveying in fields like construction, mining, and precision agriculture. It carries modular payloads of up to 700 grams and has become a trusted tool for large-scale mapping projects. The Vector model, reserved for government clients, takes on a different role: intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance operations, powered by onboard AI that can process data in real time, even in environments where GPS is unavailable.

What draws customers is the way Quantum Systems merges software and hardware into a single working brain. Its drones communicate in resistant networks, run edge computing on board, and operate with a level of autonomy that has become essential in complex or contested environments. Its latest platform, the Jaeger, moves even further into airspace defense, with the ability to detect, track, and stop hostile drones while maintaining safeguards for civilian zones. That same blend of precision and caution has helped position the company at the center of Europe’s growing defense-tech push, alongside peers like Helsing, which recently reached a €12 billion valuation.

This round builds on a long list of notable backers. Earlier investors include Peter Thiel’s Thiel Capital, Project A, and Sanno Capital, who first put $17.5 million into the company in 2022. Thiel, a vocal supporter of defense and autonomy technologies, pointed to the company’s “intelligent synthesis” of hardware and software when his firm joined. Over nine rounds, Quantum Systems has now raised more than $410 million from a group that includes HV Capital, DTCP, Airbus Ventures, Porsche SE, Notion Capital, and Balderton Capital.

Geopolitics has played a visible role in that momentum. Quantum Systems established two production facilities in Ukraine after the invasion and plans to double capacity in 2025. Hundreds of Trinity and Vector units are expected to be supplied to Ukrainian forces for surveillance and targeting support. The company has also deployed equipment in Chernobyl for environmental monitoring and strengthened ties with the German Bundeswehr and Airbus Defence and Space. In July 2024, it took a 10% stake in Ukrainian drone firm Frontline, with an option to increase that to 25%, further embedding it in the region’s ecosystem.

Looking forward, the company is preparing for another growth cycle. The new capital will be used to increase manufacturing capacity, explore acquisitions in sensor and autonomy startups, and deepen its work in AI and robotics. Executives expect revenue to reach €300 million in 2025 and more than €500 million in 2026, with another major funding round and a potential IPO in 2026 already appearing on the horizon.

The broader drone market reflects the same urgency. Defense and dual-use drone funding topped $1.7 billion over the past year, a jump of 175%. That doesn’t mean the path is smooth for everyone. Stark Defence, a related venture co-founded by Seibel and Kruck in 2024 and backed by Thiel, recently failed military trials, showing how unforgiving real-world deployment can be. For Quantum Systems, though, the €3 billion mark feels less like an arrival and more like confirmation that its approach is working.

As Europe reshapes its security strategy, Quantum Systems is no longer just building drones. It is laying claim to a central role in how modern nations see, scan, and protect the skies.

Quantum Systems (Credit: Credit Systems)