Insider Brief
- Vermeer closed a $10 million Series A led by Draper Associates (with AeroX Ventures, Boscolo Intervest, High Point Ventures, Rockaway Ventures, and U.S. Air Force Tech Stars) to scale its visual positioning system (VPS) for defense and commercial use.
- The VPS enables GPS-denied navigation via multi-camera visual matching and AI on Nvidia chips, is resistant to jamming/spoofing, and is already used by the Armed Forces of Ukraine and partners including the U.S. Army, U.S. Air Force, Lockheed Martin, and Northrop Grumman.
- Vermeer has grown from 10 to 40 employees, previously secured $7M+ in SBIR/AFWERX non-dilutive funding, and will use the new capital to expand partnerships with the U.S. military, NATO allies, and the AFU while advancing its platform.
PRESS RELEASE — Today, vision navigation and autonomy defense tech startup Vermeer, with headquarters in New York and forward operations in Kyiv, announced the close of its $10 million Series A round.
Led by renowned early-stage venture capital firm Draper Associates and joined by AeroX Ventures, Boscolo Intervest, High Point Ventures, Rockaway Ventures, along with the U.S. Air Force Tech Stars, the company is strongly positioned to expand its partnerships including with the U.S. military, NATO Allies and the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU). Vermeer will further scale its optical navigational technology platform offering for both defense and commercial use.
Tang, Draper Assoc: “We backed Vermeer because of success they’ve achieved helping Ukraine strengthen its drone fleet.”
“Dual-use tech catalyzes technical progress in both the defense and commercial sectors. And much of this innovation is already being deployed, to great success,” said Andy Tang, partner at Draper Associates. “One of the reasons we backed Vermeer is the incredible rate of success they’ve achieved specifically in helping Ukraine strengthen its drone fleet.”
Vermeer’s Visual Positioning System (VPS) is a crucial navigation solution for drones and other aerial vehicles operating where GPS signals fail. It effectively bypasses the vulnerabilities of satellite-based navigation, working seamlessly even when signals are jammed, disrupted, or intentionally spoofed with false location data. Vermeer’s VPS technology mimics human navigation, using up to four electro-optical or infrared cameras to analyze the environment.
Vermeer CEO Brian Streem said, “Building advanced technology in a war zone is not easy — but it’s the only way to make it real. Operating alongside our partners on the front lines has forced us to iterate faster, build smarter, and focus on what actually works in combat. Our goal isn’t just to give drones mass — it’s to give them precision, intelligence, and purpose. We’re proud to have earned the trust of over 30 customers, and with the support of Draper, and our other venture partners, we’re ready to scale that mission.”
By comparing these visual feeds against a database of landmarks and pre-existing 2D or 3D maps, along with leveraging AI through its Nvidia chip system, Vermeer can pinpoint its target location with precision.
Because it’s a passive system that doesn’t rely on external signals, VPS is exceptionally reliable in contested environments, making it ideal for both defense missions and civilian aerial applications.
Vermeer started out in the U.S. Air Force Tech Stars accelerator program where it earned over $7 million in SBIR awards and non-dilutive capital from the government’s AFWERX program to perfect VPS. https://www.techstars.com/accelerators
Vermeer’s technology is trusted by partners including the U.S. Army, the U.S. Air Force, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman and other defense organizations, highlighting the usefulness of its navigation solution for defense. It is already being used in theater by the Armed Forces of Ukraine to combat enable drone navigation without GPS, making their fleet immune to jamming and spoofing by Russian adversaries.
“Vermeer’s navigation technology is easy to use, resistant to disruption, and scalable,” said Petr Šmíd, General Partner at Rockaway Ventures. “Unlike GPS, Vermeer’s system operates without radio signals and remains functional even when GPS is disrupted or non-existent. We believe this unique technology will become the standard for drones, robots, and other autonomous platforms, driving a new wave of autonomous systems.”
Vermeer has grown from 10 employees to 40 employees in the past year as it continues to scale. There are eight people working in Ukraine today. Streem said the funds will be used to continue to support technological innovation and meet customer requirements.
Draper’s Tang added: “The Vermeer AI-based visual positioning system uses landmarks, stars, and other cues to help drones position themselves without needing GPS, which makes them more resilient and able to overcome jamming, spoofing, and other forms of technical attack. Their technology is changing the game for drone operations and their location accuracy. And it has innumerable applications outside of defense including for autonomous vehicles, remote delivery, and more.”
