Spanish
drone technology company FuVeX has raised €3 million in an oversubscribed
funding round to accelerate its commercial and international expansion and
strengthen its position in the European dual-use drone market. The round
included participation from SODENA, SEGO Venture, Izertis Ventures, and several
family offices linked to the industrial, agricultural and innovation sectors.
The company has also secured funding commitments for future financing rounds.
Founded
in 2013 by Carlos Matilla, FuVeX develops, manufactures and operates long-range
drones for civil and defence applications. Its proprietary technology combines
unmanned aircraft, operational systems and artificial intelligence-powered
analytics to automate the inspection and monitoring of critical infrastructure.
Designed
as a dual-use platform, FuVeX’s technology serves both commercial and defence
customers, enabling beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) operations of up to 10
kilometres while reducing inspection times, operating costs and workers’
exposure to hazardous environments.
The
company has established a strong presence in the energy sector, having
inspected more than 36,000 kilometres of power lines through contracts with
UFD, Naturgy’s electricity distributor, and Endesa. FuVeX aims to inspect 70%
of Spain’s electricity distribution network by 2027 while expanding into
agriculture, oil and gas, and other critical infrastructure sectors across
Europe and Latin America.
Alongside
the private investment, the company has secured €400,000 in public funding from
Spain’s Centre for the Development of Industrial Technology (CDTI) to support a
defence research and development project.
According
to Carlos Matilla, CEO and founder of FuVeX, the funding reflects investor
confidence in both the company’s technology and its ambition to contribute to
Europe’s strategic autonomy by developing drones designed, manufactured and
operated in Europe.
The
vertical integration of our solution—from aircraft development and operations
to data analysis—gives us a highly agile structure that can adapt to a rapidly
evolving sector. This allows us to provide a comprehensive solution while
reducing dependence on foreign technology,
he added.
The funding will be used to expand the
company’s commercial and defence operations, strengthen its technology,
industrial and commercial teams, increase manufacturing and operational
capacity, and accelerate international growth. FuVeX will also invest in
research and development to advance drone systems for defence, security and
critical infrastructure applications.
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