Vision navigation and autonomy defense tech startup Vermeer has closed a $10 million series A funding round. The funding positions the company to expand its partnerships, including with the U.S. military, NATO Allies, and the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Vermeer will further scale its optical navigational technology platform offering for both defense and commercial use. Vermeer's Visual Positioning System (VPS) is a navigation solution for drones and other aerial vehicles operating where GPS signals fail. It effectively bypasses the vulnerabilities of satellite-based navigation, working seamlessly even when signals are jammed, disrupted, or intentionally spoofed with false location data. Vermeer's VPS technology mimics human navigation, using up to four electro-optical or infrared cameras to analyze the environment. By comparing these visual feeds against a database of landmarks and pre-existing 2D or 3D maps, along with leveraging AI through its Nvidia chip system, Vermeer can precisely pinpoint its target location. Because it's a passive system that doesn't rely on external signals, VPS is exceptionally reliable in contested environments, making it ideal for both defense missions and civilian aerial applications. Vermeer started out in the U.S. Air Force Tech Stars accelerator program where it earned over $7 million in SBIR awards and non-dilutive capital from the government's AFWERX program to develop VPS. Its technology is deployed by partners including the U.S. Army, the U.S. Air Force, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, and other defense organizations. It is used in theater by the Armed Forces of Ukraine to combat enable drone navigation without GPS, making their fleet immune to jamming and spoofing by Russian adversaries. The funding was led by Draper Associates and joined by AeroX Ventures, Boscolo Intervest, High Point Ventures, Rockaway Ventures, along with the U.S. Air Force Tech Stars.