Vision-Based Autonomy for Defense

Founded: 2016
Invested: 2017, first round, first VC in (angel fund)
Category: Defense AI, autonomy

Why Valor Invested

GPS denial is no longer an edge case—it is a baseline assumption in modern conflict. Jamming and spoofing undermine mission assurance for drones and unmanned systems operating in anti-access/area-denial environments. Valor invested early in Vermeer's first round because the company was building a foundational capability for the future of effective drone navigation.

Vermeer’s approach is technically difficult, operationally essential, and broadly applicable across mission profiles and platforms. In our view, this is infrastructure—not a feature—at a moment when the defense ecosystem is rapidly reprioritizing resilience, autonomy, and precision.

What Vermeer Does

Vermeer builds a Visual Positioning System (VPS) that enables aerial platforms to determine absolute location in environments where GPS is jammed, degraded, denied, or spoofed. VPS is a passive, vision-based navigation stack that uses electro-optical and/or infrared cameras plus onboard compute to match what the platform “sees” against pre-existing terrain and map data—providing reliable positioning without external satellite signals. 

Vermeer is designed for organizations that require dependable navigation and autonomy under electronic warfare conditions, including:

• Government and defense customers operating unmanned systems in contested environments

• Drone manufacturers and integrators building ISR, strike, and logistics platforms

• Defense primes and advanced autonomy teams seeking exportable, ready-to-field alternatives to GPS-dependent navigation

The company works with defense and industry partners including the U.S. Air Force, U.S. Army, and major defense organizations, as well as industrial customers such as GE. 

Why It Matters

Autonomy is only as reliable as its navigation. In GPS-denied environments, systems that depend on GNSS can lose guidance, drift off mission, or become vulnerable to manipulation. Vermeer’s VPS helps restore mission assurance by providing:

• Resilience when GPS is unavailable or untrustworthy

• Low signature operation (no reliance on external positioning signals)

• Precision and continuity across full mission profiles

• Platform flexibility via modular integrations
  
  Vermeer strengthens unmanned systems’ ability to navigate, persist, and perform when the electromagnetic environment is contested.

Momentum Since Valor Invested

Vermeer has advanced from breakthrough R&D into scaled, validated deployment—supported by meaningful institutional partners:

• Series A scale-up led by Draper Associates: In October 2025, Vermeer announced it closed $10M in Series A funding via a Draper Associates-led extension, with participation from AeroX Ventures, Boscolo Intervest, High Point Ventures, Rockaway Ventures, and USAF Techstars. 

• Strategic partnership for contested autonomy: In November 2025, Vermeer announced a partnership with Sentry Operations to integrate Vermeer’s combat-proven vision navigation stack with terminal guidance and precision-effects technology—targeting resilient autonomy and precision in heavily contested environments, with live demonstrations beginning Q1 2026. 

• Platform integrations: Vermeer has also pursued modular integrations with manufacturers, including a partnership to integrate its VPS payload with Draganfly’s Commander 3XL to improve defense ISR and GPS-denied mission capabilities. 

Valor’s Perspective

Vermeer represents what we aim to back early: a founder-led team building a technically defensible capability against a rapidly intensifying threat environment. As autonomy becomes central to national security and resilience, navigation assurance in GPS-denied conditions is becoming a defining layer of the stack—and Vermeer is positioned to be a category leader.