Quantum Systems
Florian Seibel & Sven Kruck (co-CEOs)
Data verified as of Sep 18, 2026
Summary
Quantum Systems is a Gilching-based dual-use unmanned-systems company founded in 2015 by former Bundeswehr helicopter pilot Florian Seibel. It started as a maker of electric VTOL mapping drones and, after Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine, became one of Europe's main suppliers of software-defined reconnaissance aircraft. Its combat-proven Vector AI eVTOL ISR drone and backpackable Twister fly alongside Reliant, a Group 3 hybrid-electric long-range VTOL with more than 10 hours of endurance, all tied together by MOSAIC UXS, an open command-and-control layer launched in June 2025. The company says its systems flew more than 19,000 missions in Ukraine in 2025, and it now manufactures in Germany, Ukraine, the United States, Australia, Romania, the United Kingdom and the Baltics. In 2026 it pushed beyond small ISR drones: PULSE P19, an optionally piloted counter-UAS and multi-role aircraft unveiled at ILA Berlin in June with Chancellor Friedrich Merz present; a MOSAIC Ground Autonomy Kit that retrofits heavy trucks, demonstrated on a Daimler Truck Mercedes-Benz Arocs; and, on 14 September, Seavex and Subvex, its first unmanned surface and underwater vehicles. A $1.2 billion Series D closed on 2 July 2026 at about $8 billion post-money, co-led by Blackstone, Noteus, Airbus and Advent, more than doubling the roughly €3 billion mark set by a Balderton-led Series C extension in November 2025. The company says it is already profitable at double-digit margins. German press put 2025 revenue at about €300 million. Alongside the round, Airbus Defence and Space deepened a strategic collaboration, Japan selected Quantum for an ATLA counter-UAS proof-of-concept, and the European Commission named it a founding member of the EU-Ukraine Drone Alliance. Co-founder Seibel also co-founded strike-drone maker Stark Defence; he has left the door open to a merger, while a Stark spokesperson has said there are no combination plans.
Main Products
Silent mid-range eVTOL fixed-wing ISR drone, the current iteration of the combat-proven Vector family. A 2-in-1 airframe that converts without tools into a multicopter (including tethered persistent watch), with dual NVIDIA Jetson Orin boards for onboard detection, classification and tracking, visual-inertial GNSS-denied navigation, and a 60-plus km encrypted datalink. Single-operator setup in under three minutes.
Combat-deployed in Ukraine and in service with multiple NATO and allied forces including Germany, Australia, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Romania, Spain and the United States. Company said its systems (led by Vector) flew more than 19,000 Ukraine missions in 2025.
Backpackable short-range eVTOL ISR drone for squad-level reconnaissance. Two-minute setup from a 2-by-2-metre pad, ultra-low acoustic signature, onboard Jetson Orin AI, and a 15 km datalink. Selected as the Bundeswehr ALADIN successor.
December 2025 Bundeswehr framework for up to 747 systems with a first order of 147. Product page lists 90 minutes endurance and 3.8 kg MTOW.
Group 3 hybrid-electric VTOL long-range ISR aircraft. Two-person assembly, 10-by-10-metre launch pad, 10-plus hours of endurance and a 160 km datalink, with dual swappable payload bays for EO/IR, laser designation, SAR, SIGINT/EW and SATCOM. July 2026 upgrade raised payload to 9 kg. Open architecture (ROS/Docker) and NATO C2 connectors (TAK, SitaWare, Kropyva).
Fielded as Quantum's long-range ISR and mothership-capable platform; July 2026 hybrid-electric / 9 kg payload upgrade announced. Wikipedia and German reporting have also described a Reliant-based carrier that can launch Neros Archer drones for the US market.
Optionally piloted light military aircraft for low-altitude counter-UAS, ISR, maritime patrol, SIGINT/EW, light attack and training. Designed from scratch for crewed, remotely piloted or uncrewed use, with MOSAIC UXS as the mission layer and under-wing stations for interceptor drones and precision effectors. Unveiled 10 June 2026 at ILA Berlin.
Unveiled June 2026; not yet in flight test. Secondary reporting has cited a first flight-test phase targeted for summer 2027. No production contract disclosed.
Open, vendor-agnostic mission software for unmanned systems in the air, on land and at sea. AI planning builds a 3D mission picture and issues autopilot commands; the same stack scales from a handheld controller to a multi-screen operations center and is built to plug into BMS, MGCS and FCAS environments without locking customers to Quantum hardware.
Commercially launched 4 June 2025. September 2026 XTEND partnership folds XOS strike autonomy into the stack for a European NATO customer programme.
Vehicle-agnostic retrofit that turns heavy tactical and logistics trucks into unmanned or teleoperated assets, descended from Europe's first TÜV-certified autonomous trucking stack. Leader-follower convoys, GNSS-denied driving and remote cabin-off operations, integrated into MOSAIC UXS. Demonstrated on a Daimler Truck Mercedes-Benz Arocs.
Product page live; Arocs robotic-convoy demonstrator shown. No production army contract disclosed as of September 2026.
Long-endurance unmanned surface vehicle launched 14 September 2026 as Quantum's maritime mission hub. Carries surveillance and counter-drone radars plus EO sensors with onboard AI, launches and recovers UAVs, and docks, recharges and offloads UUVs. Integrated into MOSAIC UXS.
Announced 14 September 2026 at a NATO exercise in Portugal; sea trials underway. Product page lists up to two months endurance and up to 400 kg payload.
AI-enabled unmanned underwater vehicle for autonomous ISR down to 6,000 metres, with sonar and hydroacoustic sensors and onboard edge processing. Can cruise for up to four days or sit on the seabed in passive watch for weeks, and docks with Seavex for charge and data offload.
Announced with Seavex on 14 September 2026; sea trials as part of the same NATO exercise. No production contract disclosed.
What's Next
The optionally piloted counter-UAS aircraft was unveiled 10 June 2026 and has not flown. Aviation News, covering the ILA debut, reported that Quantum aims to start official flight testing by summer 2027. The product page itself does not post a first-flight date. A first flight would show whether a company built on small eVTOL ISR drones can field a 4-tonne multi-role aircraft.
Convert Japan's ATLA counter-UAS proof-of-concept into a programme
ATLA selected Quantum on 15 July 2026 for an Early Acquisition Program interceptor-drone evaluation. Watch whether the proof-of-concept produces a Japan Self-Defense Force buy, Quantum's first named Indo-Pacific counter-UAS contract.
Deliver the XTEND-MOSAIC NATO customer programme
The 10 September 2026 XTEND partnership already supports a joint autonomous-systems programme for a European NATO customer, with further demonstrations planned in 2026. That is the first named test of MOSAIC as a sensing-to-strike layer rather than an ISR overlay.
Turn Seavex and Subvex sea trials into fielded maritime products
Both vehicles entered NATO-linked sea trials at announcement on 14 September 2026. Watch for a first navy customer, demonstrated UAV launch/recovery from Seavex, and whether the two-month surface endurance and 6,000-metre dive rating show up in independent trials rather than brochures.
Print 2026 revenue against the doubling-or-better target
Management has described 2025 revenue of about €300 million with double-digit profitability, and the CFO said at the Series D that a similar growth rate was on track for 2026, which would imply around €600 million. Secondary reports of FT-reviewed documents have cited more than €700 million and about €200 million of EBITDA. An audited or even company-confirmed 2026 print is the test of whether an $8 billion ISR company is earning its multiple.
Clarify the Stark Defence relationship
Florian Seibel co-founded both companies. After the Series D he told reporters a merger with Stark could happen 'if it makes sense'; a Stark spokesperson said there were no combination plans. Together the two firms are valued well above $10 billion on overlapping European unmanned-systems demand. Watch for a deal, an explicit decision not to merge, or a recce-strike product pairing that stops short of a combination.
Operations & Revenue
Vector and Twister are in production and operational use, including daily frontline ISR in Ukraine and a Bundeswehr Twister framework. Reliant is being upgraded in the field. MOSAIC UXS is commercially available and is absorbing partner stacks (XTEND, Centum SIGINT). PULSE P19 is unveiled but not yet in flight test. Seavex and Subvex entered sea trials at a NATO exercise in mid-September 2026. Production and engineering sites now span Germany, Ukraine, the US (Moorpark manufacturing plus a new Huntsville R&D office), Australia, Romania, the UK and the Baltics, with more than 1,700 employees. A possible combination with co-founder Florian Seibel's strike-drone company Stark Defence has been discussed in the press; Stark has said it has no merger plans.
Revenue Streams
Tactical ISR aircraft (Vector, Twister, Reliant)
Sales of eVTOL reconnaissance systems to NATO and allied governments, including 619 Vector units for Ukraine financed by Germany as of April 2025, a December 2025 Bundeswehr Twister framework for up to 747 drones, Australia's AUD $90 million LAND 129 Vector award, Spanish Army Vector orders, and Romanian Vector buys including a SAFE-financed follow-on.
MOSAIC UXS software and autonomy kits
Licensing of the multi-domain C2 layer launched June 2025, plus the MOSAIC Ground Autonomy Kit that retrofits heavy trucks. Partner integrations (XTEND strike autonomy, Centum SIGINT payloads) are meant to widen the software attach rate beyond Quantum airframes.
Dual-use eVTOL mapping drones for agriculture, mining, construction and geospatial customers, the original product line before the defence pivot. Still sold, but no longer the growth engine.
Counter-UAS and larger aircraft (PULSE P19, interceptors)
Not yet a material revenue line. PULSE P19 was unveiled June 2026 as an optionally piloted counter-UAS and multi-role aircraft; Japan selected Quantum for an ATLA interceptor-drone proof-of-concept in July 2026; Airbus Helicopters has explored integrating Quantum interceptors on the H145M.
Key Metrics
- Employees
- 1,700+ across eight countries (company statement, 14 September 2026)
- Est. Annual Revenue
- About €300 million in 2025, per German press agency dpa as reported by The Next Web at the Series D, with the company describing itself as already profitable at double-digit margins. Independent research firm Sacra estimates $330 million of 2025 revenue, up 161% from $124 million in 2024. Secondary reporting of Financial Times-reviewed documents has cited 2026 guidance above €700 million of revenue and about €200 million of EBITDA; Quantum's CFO said in July 2026 that revenue was on track to keep a similar growth rate. None of these figures is an audited group disclosure.
- Total raised
- €310M through Series C (May 2025), plus €180M Series C extension (Nov 2025) and $1.2B Series D (July 2026)
Timeline
On 10 June 2026 at ILA Berlin, with Chancellor Friedrich Merz present, Quantum unveils PULSE P19, its first platform designed from the start for crewed, remotely piloted or uncrewed operations. The 4,200 kg military MTOW aircraft is aimed at low-altitude counter-UAS, ISR and maritime patrol, with 11-plus hours of endurance, 2,200-plus km of range on internal fuel, and under-wing stations for interceptor drones.
On 2 July 2026 Quantum signs a $1.2 billion Series D co-led by Blackstone, Noteus, Airbus and Advent, with BOND, Fidelity, Wellington, A.P. Moller Holding, Elephant Lake Ventures, Balderton and HV Capital, valuing the company at about $8 billion post-money. The company says it is profitable, that its systems flew more than 19,000 Ukraine missions in 2025, and that it will use the capital to industrialise MOSAIC-connected systems across air, land and sea. Airbus Defence and Space agrees to deepen the strategic collaboration in the same announcement.
On 15 July 2026 Japan's Acquisition, Technology & Logistics Agency selects Quantum Systems for a Counter-UAS Proof-of-Concept under ATLA's Early Acquisition Program, evaluating interceptor-drone capabilities for the Japan Self-Defense Forces.
On 16 July 2026 the European Commission names Quantum Systems a founding member of the EU-Ukraine Drone Alliance, launched around the Kyiv defence-industry forum. The company points to Quantum Frontline Industries, a European-Ukrainian joint venture under the 'Build with Ukraine' framework, as the industrial model.
On 27 July 2026 Quantum announces a new Reliant generation: hybrid-electric power, payload up to 9 kg (EO/IR, laser designator, SAR, SIGINT/EW, SATCOM), still assembled by a two-person team and operated from a 10-by-10-metre pad, with an ITAR-free European supply chain.
On 24 August 2026 Quantum-Systems Inc. opens a 3,200-square-foot engineering office in Huntsville's Upland Park, next to Cummings Research Park, to put counter-UAS and unmanned-intelligence development closer to US Army and other customers. US CEO Dave Sharpin says counter-UAS work will be centered there.
On 10 September 2026 Quantum and NYSE-listed XTEND announce that XTEND's XOS operating system and autonomous mission stack will be integrated into MOSAIC UXS, covering sensing, swarming and strike. The companies say the work already supports a joint programme for a European NATO customer.
On 14 September 2026 in Sesimbra, Portugal, on the sidelines of a NATO exercise, Quantum launches its maritime line: Seavex, a long-endurance unmanned surface vehicle (up to two months, UAV launch/recovery and UUV docking), and Subvex, an AI-enabled UUV rated to 6,000 metres. Both plug into MOSAIC UXS. The same PR puts headcount above 1,700 across eight countries.
On 6 May 2025 Balderton Capital leads a €160 million Series C with Hensoldt, Airbus Defence and Space, Bullhound Capital, LP&E AG and existing backers including HV Capital, Project A, Peter Thiel, DTCP, Omnes, Airbus Ventures, Porsche SE and Notion, taking total capital raised to €310 million. Headcount is about 550. The company has just acquired AirRobot, making it a UK Ministry of Defence tier-1 supplier, and Nordic Unmanned UK.
On 4 June 2025 Quantum Systems commercially launches MOSAIC UXS, an open multi-domain C2 suite meant to plan and fly unmanned systems from Quantum and third-party vendors across air, land and sea, including swarm operations, from a smartphone or a command center.
On 28 November 2025 Balderton leads a €180 million Series C extension that the company says triples its valuation to above €3 billion and brings 2025 fundraising to €340 million. Capital is earmarked for multi-domain expansion and further acquisitions after AirRobot, Nordic Unmanned and AI-pilot specialist Spleenlab.
In July 2024 the Australian Defence Force awards Quantum-Systems Inc. a LAND 129 Phase 4B contract worth AUD $90 million for Vector systems, with deliveries planned from April 2025. Romania also signs that year for 22 Vector systems worth €18.4 million.
In October 2023 HV Capital and DTCP lead a €63.6 million Series B with Project A, Thiel Capital, ScaleUp Fonds Bayern, Omnes Capital and Airbus Ventures, taking cumulative funding above €100 million. The same year Vector wins the Bundeswehr FALKE short-range reconnaissance tender for German special forces.
After Russia's full-scale invasion, Germany finances Vector reconnaissance drones for Ukraine. Orders grow from 33 systems in August 2022 to 105 in January 2023 and 300 in May 2023. By April 2025 the German government listed 619 Vector systems supplied.
Florian Seibel, a former German armed-forces officer and aerospace researcher at the University of the Bundeswehr Munich, leaves his PhD work after patenting an eVTOL drone prototype and founds Quantum-Systems GmbH in January 2015 with Michael Kriegel, Tobias Kloss and Armin Busse. The first products are civilian mapping aircraft.
