FuVeX raises €3M to scale dual-use drone technology across Europe

FuVeX, a drone company out of Spain, has pulled in €3 million in an oversubscribed round, plus a separate €400,000 in public funding from CDTI for a defence R&D project. The private money came from SODENA, SEGO Venture, Izertis Ventures and a handful of family offices with ties to industry and agriculture. The company also says it already has commitments lined up for future rounds, which suggests investors are betting on more than just this one check.

What FuVeX actually builds is long-range drones that mix unmanned aircraft with AI-driven analytics, aimed at automating inspection of things like power lines and pipelines. Founded back in 2013 by Carlos Matilla, the company has quietly racked up more than 36,000 kilometres of power-line inspections through deals with UFD, Naturgy and Endesa. Its drones can fly beyond visual line of sight for up to 10 kilometres, which cuts down on the need for workers to physically climb towers or walk transmission corridors in rough terrain.

The dual-use angle is the real story here. FuVeX isn't just selling to utilities — it's positioning itself as a defence supplier too, and that combination is exactly what's fashionable in European tech right now given the continent's push for so-called strategic autonomy. Matilla leaned into that framing directly, talking about reducing dependence on foreign technology by building drones that are designed, made and operated entirely in Europe. Given how much of the drone supply chain currently runs through China and the US, that's not just marketing language — it's a genuine gap European governments want filled.

The growth targets are aggressive. FuVeX wants to cover 70% of Spain's electricity distribution network by 2027, while also pushing into agriculture, oil and gas, and expanding into Latin America. The new capital goes toward manufacturing capacity, hiring across engineering and commercial teams, and further defence-focused R&D. Whether a €3 million round is enough fuel for that scale of ambition is an open question, but the CDTI backing at least signals the Spanish government is willing to co-invest in the defence side.