Destinus, the Dutch maker of long-range drones and strike systems, has completed the acquisition of Perciv AI, a Delft startup that builds AI software for detecting and tracking objects in radar data. Destinus announced the deal on October 21, 2026.
Financial terms were not disclosed.
Perciv becomes Destinus' centre for radar perception and its founding team will continue to lead the business in Delft. The deal is Destinus' third acquisition in the Netherlands, after the assets of OPRA in 2023 and Aerialtronics in 2025.
What Perciv built
Perciv was founded in 2022 by TU Delft alumni Andras Palffy, now director of technology, Balazs Szekeres, managing director, and Srimannarayana Baratam, director of operations, according to Dutchstartup.ai.
Its neural networks analyse raw radar data to detect and track objects, including targets with a small radar cross section that are hard to pick up. The software also supports navigation by radar where satellite positioning is unavailable or jammed.
Perciv originally pitched its technology as a cheaper alternative to lidar, using off-the-shelf radars that keep working in rain, fog and darkness. Its software modules include EgoTrack for radar-only localisation, FreeRoad for detecting free space and obstacles, Objects for classifying and tracking targets, and Fusion for combining radar and camera data. It listed on-road vehicles, logistics, agriculture, defence and drones as target markets.
"Perciv AI was built to turn advanced radar research into software that works in real systems," Palffy said.
“Joining Destinus gives us the scale to develop the technology further and grow the team in Delft.”
Why Destinus is buying
Destinus already owns Daedalean, a Swiss company that works on optical perception and navigation without satellite signals, and has a joint venture with the Dutch research organisation TNO on advanced radar seeker technology. Perciv adds radar detection, which Destinus said will help it combine optical and radar sensing in its systems.
Founder and chief executive Mikhail Kokorich said bringing Perciv in-house gives Destinus control over a critical technology. "Radar perception needs to be developed as part of the complete system," he said.
Palffy told The Cap Table that a year of working with Destinus had shown the value of linking perception research directly to system development. "Joining Destinus gives us the scale to develop the technology further and grow the team in Delft," he said.
The founders and the funding
Perciv raised a seed round of €2.5 million (about $2.7 million) in 2024 from DayOne Capital, Keen Venture Partners and Vinci Venture Capital, according to Dutchstartup.ai, which dates the round to December 2024. No later round was reported.
Destinus is far larger. It is based in Valkenburg, was founded in 2021 by Kokorich and has about 750 staff, according to Dutchstartup.ai. It has raised almost €400 million (about $465 million) through equity, convertible instruments and a €50 million credit facility from Commerzbank. Its earlier purchase of Daedalean was reportedly worth about $225 million.
A busy year for European defence tech
Destinus' products include Ruta, a long-range precision strike system, Hornet for air defence and Kryla for distributed saturation strikes. It also has a joint venture with Rheinmetall, Rheinmetall Destinus Strike Systems, in which Rheinmetall holds 51% and Destinus 49%.
A day before the Perciv announcement, Destinus announced a partnership with German defence AI company Helsing. Bloomberg reported that Helsing was in talks to invest in Destinus at a valuation of about €6 billion, Dutchstartup.ai noted.
Perciv's sale shows how quickly perception software built for cars and robots is being pulled into defence. A university spin-out that two years ago was pitching radar as a cheaper sensor for vehicles is now part of a company building drones and strike systems.
Destinus did not say how many people work at Perciv, or whether Perciv will keep selling its radar software to customers outside defence, such as vehicle makers and logistics companies that were among its original target markets. The announcement said only that the founding team will keep leading the business from Delft.
