Warsaw VC Leads €5.57M Investment in Lendurai
Polish-Led Consortium Backs Estonian Startup Lendurai with €5.57M to Strengthen Europe’s Autonomous Defense Capabilities
Estonian defense-tech startup Lendurai has raised €5.57 million in seed funding to scale its autonomous drone systems built for GPS- and radio-denied environments — a milestone that signals growing interest in sovereign European defense solutions. The round was led by Warsaw-based Expeditions Fund, with additional support from France’s HCVC and Germany’s Vsquared Ventures.
The investment positions Poland not just as a geopolitical front-line state, but increasingly as a capital hub for the continent’s strategic tech ambitions.
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Founded in 2024, Lendurai develops compact, AI-powered UAV navigation systems that can operate fully at the edge — without relying on GPS or continuous communication. Their drones are built for survivability and simplicity: they can be trained in just two days (compared to traditional eight-week programs), support interchangeable payloads, and are built with mass-manufacturing in mind. The platform has already been tested in real-world conflict zones.
“At Lendurai, we’re building high-performance autonomous solutions that are reliable, scalable, and combat-proven,” said CEO and co-founder Siim Maivel. “Our on-board autonomy enhances every drone’s capabilities, enabling them to think faster, react smarter, and deliver reliable effects—even in the most challenging electronic warfare environments.”
The funding will be used to:
Scale the company’s current product offering;
Develop the next phase of its long-term roadmap;
Expand international business development;
Double the engineering team focused on machine learning, simulation, and control systems.
Polish Capital, European Mission
This funding round is notable for its lead investor: Expeditions Fund, a Warsaw-based VC increasingly known for bets in AI, defense tech, and dual-use systems. The firm’s involvement highlights Poland’s growing role in funding technologies critical to European technological sovereignty — a term that has moved from policy whitepapers to concrete startup roadmaps.
“Europe’s security and independence won’t be built on outdated hardware or passive strategies,” said Mikołaj Firlej, founding partner at Expeditions Fund. “Lendurai offers a survivable, scalable, and sovereign alternative to legacy systems — and does it on NATO-ready terms.”
The Polish connection is more than symbolic: Lendurai’s total raise, equivalent to PLN 24 million, marks one of the most strategically aligned seed rounds in the CEE region this year.
About the Startup
Lendurai’s three co-founders — Siim Maivel (Estonia), Mark Cowan (UK), and Sergii Kharagorgiiev (Ukraine) — bring cross-border expertise in defense, optics, and autonomous systems. Their startup is designed to fill an urgent operational gap: effective UAVs for GPS-denied and signal-compromised environments, a challenge increasingly relevant in both eastern Ukraine and future contested zones. Lendurai’s UAVs are also NDAA-compliant, making them suitable for both military and commercial use in allied nations.
Investor Profiles
Expeditions Fund (Poland): An early-stage fund focused on dual-use, defense, AI, cybersecurity, and autonomy. Their recent investments include other Polish and Baltic region defense startups.
HCVC (France, U.S., Japan): A cross-continental deep-tech fund supporting hardware-heavy innovations.
Vsquared Ventures (Germany): A Munich-based firm focused on six deep-tech categories, including robotics, AI, and space.
As Europe accelerates efforts to secure strategic autonomy in defense and infrastructure, Lendurai’s mission aligns squarely with broader EU and NATO objectives. The startup is headquartered in Tallinn, but its vision — and capital base — are firmly pan-European, with Warsaw now playing a pivotal role. Explore more: https://lendurai.com/
