![]() But Plümmer says the company saw so much potential in the technology it had developed and the emerging drone delivery market, that the exponential growth curve of its drone-delivery-as-a-service model helped make traditional VC backing make sense. Linear growth with solid revenue and steady demand was fine for Wingcopter as a bootstrapped startup founded by university students supported by a small initial investment from family and friends. UPS partners with Wingcopter to develop new multipurpose drone delivery fleet Wingcopter has already been operating commercially in a few different markets globally, including in Vanuatu in partnership with Unicef for vaccine delivery to remote areas, in Tanzania for two-way medical supply delivery and in Ireland where it completed the world's first delivery of insulin by drone beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS), the industry's technical term for when a drone flies beyond the visual range of a human operator who has the ability to take control in case of emergencies. Wingcopter CEO and founder Tom Plümmer explained in an interview that the addition of an SV-based investor is particularly important to the startup, since it's in the process of preparing its entry into the U.S., with plans for an American facility, both for flight testing to satisfy FAA requirements for operational certification, as well as eventually for U.S.-based drone production. This new Series A round was led by Silicon Valley VC Xplorer Capital, as well as German growth fund Futury Regio Growth. The company, which focuses on drone delivery, has come a long way since its founding in 2017, having developed, built and flown its Wingcopter 178 heavy-lift cargo delivery drone using its proprietary and patented tilt-rotor propellant mechanism, which combines all the benefits of vertical take-off and landing with the advantages of fixed-wing aircraft for longer-distance horizontal flight. We look forward to watching and supporting them as they help to deliver vaccines in the near term, and to deliver freight in a more sustainable way over the long term.German drone technology startup Wingcopter has raised a $22 million Series A – its first significant venture capital raise after mostly bootstrapping. Jonathan McQueen, co-founder and managing partner of Xplorer Capital, said: “We have been impressed with the Wingcopter team and the speed at which they have developed the product and built the company. “With the support and powerful networks of our investors, we are taking a huge step closer to fulfilling our vision of creating efficient and sustainable drone solutions that improve and save lives everywhere.” “Poor infrastructure has always been a barrier, especially for healthcare provision, impacting billions of lives – a situation further exacerbated by Covid-19,” he said. Plümmer, who is CEO of Wingcopter, said the company is dedicated to setting up “logistical highways in the sky” that can leapfrog traditional transportation methods. ![]() The company plans to grow its team in the fields of flight testing, certification, production and software development, specifically focused on ground and flight control software, embedded systems, software architecture and cloud infrastructure. ![]() Some of the funding will also be used to set up partially automated serial production at Wingcopter’s new headquarters in Germany. Wingcopter said it will use the $22m funding to strengthen its leadership in drone-based logistics, with a special focus on healthcare-related applications, including the distribution of Covid-19 vaccines. Futury Ventures and Hessen Kapital also participated.įounded in 2017 by Tom Plümmer, Jonathan Hesselbarth and Ansgar Kadura, Wingcopter manufactures and operates uncrewed drones, focusing on the delivery of medical goods as well as parcels and food. The funding round was led by Silicon Valley-based Xplorer Capital and Futury Regio Growth Fund. Now, German-based drone developer Wingcopter is capitalising on the increased interest, securing $22m in Series A funding. In October last year, Dublin-based drone start-up Manna launched a trial of its delivery drones in Galway in partnership with Tesco. The need for contactless deliveries during the Covid-19 pandemic has sparked more interest in the drone industry. The German drone developer will use the funding to strengthen its position in drone-based logistics, with a particular focus on healthcare-related applications.
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