Croatia-based defence tech startup Orqa has raised €12.7 million in Series A funding to scale its drone manufacturing network and expand internationally. The round was led by Expeditions Ventrues, with participation from Lightspeed Venture Partners, Taiwania Capital, Aymo, and Radius Capital.
- Founded in 2018 by Srdjan Kovacevic, Ivan Jelusic, and Vlatko Matijevic, Orqa develops first-person view (FPV) drones and unmanned aerial systems used in both defence and commercial applications. The company designs and manufactures a wide range of drone components in-house, including flight controllers, radios, motors, cameras, and printed circuit boards, while avoiding Chinese-made components to maintain supply-chain sovereignty.
- According to the company, its production facility in Croatia is capable of manufacturing up to 280,000 NDAA-compliant drones per year.
- With the new funding, Orqa plans to scale this capacity through its Global Manufacturing Partnership Program, a network of international manufacturing partners producing standardized systems based on Orqa designs and components.
- The initiative aims to expand the company's production capacity to over one million drones annually. Manufacturing partnerships are already being established in North America, Europe, the Middle East, and the Indo-Pacific.
- Orqa has also become increasingly visible within the Western defence ecosystem. The company has reportedly supplied drones to the Ukrainian Armed Forces and collaborated with Ukrainian drone pilots, including producing a limited-edition version of its FPV.One goggles in the colors of the Ukrainian flag to support the Gnizdo racing team and the 414th Separate Brigade of Unmanned Strike Aviation Systems (“Birds of Madyar”).
- To date, Orqa has raised just over €20 million in total funding — a relatively modest amount by defence tech industry standards. In 2024, the company closed a €5.8 million seed round led by Lightspeed.
- The new Series A will support further manufacturing expansion, supply-chain development, and potential acquisitions as the company looks to vertically integrate more capabilities and broaden its aerial robotics platform.
