Vermeer, an American-Ukrainian vision navigation and autonomy defense tech startup, has raised a new round of financing, Scroll.media reported. The round was led by Draper Associates.

• The company closed its Series A $10 million round, with participation from AeroX Ventures, Boscolo Intervest, High Point Ventures, Rockaway Ventures, and U.S. Air Force Techstars.
• Earlier, Vermeer took part in the U.S. Air Force Techstars accelerator, where it received over $7 million in grants.
• The raised funds will be used to scale the company’s optical navigation platform for both defense and commercial use.

Vermeer’s headquarters are in New York, while its operational team is based in Kyiv. Over the past year, the company has grown from 10 to 40 employees, including 8 team members in Ukraine. The investment will strengthen Vermeer’s cooperation with the U.S. Army, NATO allies, and the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

Vermeer’s technology is already in use by the U.S. Army, U.S. Air Force, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, and other defense partners. The Ukrainian Armed Forces are also deploying the system to enable GPS-independent drone navigation, making the drones resistant to jamming and signal spoofing by Russian forces.

Draper Associates, the venture firm founded by Tim Draper, served as the lead investor. According to the firm, their decision to back Vermeer was driven by the company’s impressive technological results in Ukraine.

«Vermeer’s AI system uses landmarks, stars, and other visual cues to help drones navigate without GPS. This makes them resistant to jamming, spoofing, and other technical attacks. Their technology is a game-changer in the drone industry and has huge potential beyond defense — for autonomous transportation, delivery, and other sectors,» said Andy Tang, Partner at Draper Associates.