Briefs · Entrepreneurship
Germany's drone maker is now worth $8 billion, and the war helped
Quantum Systems has raised $1.2 billion at an $8 billion valuation, more than doubling its worth in eight months.
The Series D was co-led by Blackstone, Noteus, Airbus and Advent, with Bond, Fidelity and others joining. The German maker of Vector VTOL reconnaissance drones was valued at over €3 billion in November last year; it is now, by the company’s own account, worth roughly two and a half times that.
Drones are the rare technology where the demo is a battlefield. Quantum Systems’ aircraft gather aerial intelligence for defence, government and commercial customers, and the demand has not exactly been theoretical.
The round makes the company one of Europe’s most valuable defence technology firms, and a reminder that the continent’s biggest growth story of the decade wears camouflage, not a hoodie.
Conclusion: Quantum Systems is not a startup that happens to make drones, but rather a defence company that happens to be a startup, and investors have noticed.
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