Rockaway Ventures, a venture capital fund focused on technology-driven startups, continues to expand its portfolio, now reaching 13 companies with this latest investment. This also marks another move into the dual-use technology sector, alongside its investment in the American-Slovak startup CulturePulse, which uses AI for behavioral modeling and risk prediction.
Vermeer’s flagship product, the Visual Positioning System (VPS), enables drones and other aerial vehicles to determine their position even in environments where satellite-based GPS fails. This system works even when GPS signals are intentionally jammed, disrupted by stronger signals, or manipulated to provide false location data. VPS technology operates similarly to how humans navigate — using cameras to analyze the environment and match it to a database of visual landmarks.
The system employs up to four electro-optical or infrared cameras and uses pre-existing 2D or 3D maps. As a passive system, VPS doesn’t rely on external signals, remaining effective in areas where GPS is unreliable or spoofed — ideal for both civilian applications and defense or reconnaissance missions.
Vermeer CEO Brian Streem said, “Building advanced technology in a war zone is not easy — but it’s the only way to make it real. Operating alongside our partners on the front lines has forced us to iterate faster, build smarter, and focus on what actually works in combat. Our goal isn’t just to give drones mass — it’s to give them precision, intelligence, and purpose. We’re proud to have earned the trust of over 30 customers, and with the support of Draper, and our other venture partners, we’re ready to scale that mission.”
Rockaway Ventures invested alongside Draper Associates — one of Silicon Valley’s most prominent venture capital firms, with over 40 years of experience and a track record of backing world-renowned companies such as Tesla, Skype, Coinbase, and SpaceX. Draper Associates supports projects in various fields, including artificial intelligence, robotics, blockchain, and breakthroughs in aviation and healthcare.
“Dual-use tech catalyzes technical progress in both the defense and commercial sectors. And much of this innovation is already being successfully deployed,” said Andy Tang, partner at Draper Associates. “One of the reasons we backed Vermeer is the remarkable success they’ve achieved in helping Ukraine strengthen its drone fleet. Their AI-based visual positioning system uses landmarks, stars, and other cues to help drones position themselves without needing GPS, which makes them more resilient and able to overcome jamming, spoofing, and other forms of technical attack. Their technology is changing the game for drone operations and overall location accuracy. And it has innumerable applications outside of defense including for autonomous vehicles, remote delivery, and more.”
“GPS revolutionized the world by making location determination accessible, starting as a specialized technology but eventually becoming foundational. Vermeer’s navigation technology shares the same character—it’s easy to use, resistant to disruption, and scalable,” explains Petr Šmíd, General Partner at Rockaway Ventures, highlighting the investment’s potential. “Unlike GPS, Vermeer’s system operates without radio signals and remains functional even when GPS is disrupted or non-existent. We believe this unique technology will become the standard for drones, robots, and other autonomous platforms, driving a new wave of autonomous systems.”
“Technologies that have the potential to transform entire industries are key to our investment decisions. Vermeer’s partnership with drone manufacturer Draganfly, which is integrating their VPS technology into its Commander 3XL drone for GPS-denied operations, clearly demonstrates that this is a solution with significant relevance for the defense sector,” adds Šmíd.
The story of Vermeer began with American entrepreneur Brian Streem, who started his career in the film industry in New York. In 2014, he founded Aerocine Ventures (later renamed Aerobo), a company specializing in drone cinematography for productions with Netflix, HBO, and Hollywood studios. Tools originally developed for film production to visualize complex drone shots soon caught the attention of the U.S. Department of Defense. In 2018, Streem and his team founded Vermeer, pivoting to defense and autonomy applications. Since then, the company has secured contracts with the defense sector and expanded into industrial and space applications.
Alongside Streem — now CEO and based in Kyiv to drive the company’s growth — Vermeer’s technical director, Suresh Kumar, brings over a decade of expertise in unmanned systems. Kumar, previously the CTO at Aerobo, is responsible for Vermeer’s critical navigation stack and integrating VPS technology into various platforms.
