Wingcopter, a German drone maker and service provider, announced today that it has raised $ 42 million from renowned financial and strategic investors. The new funding is part of a Series A extension round, and the company’s total funding to date has tripled to more than $ 60 million. Germany’s leading retailer REWE Group and German investors Salvia and XAI Technologies have joined as new shareholders. They were joined by Japanese conglomerate ITOCHU and former supporters Germany’s Future Capital and Silicon Valley-based Xplorer Capital.
REWE Group is one of Germany’s largest grocery retailers with 12,000 stores across Europe, an ideal addition to Wingcopter’s investor base, and Wingcopter’s future will provide medical drone delivery services. It clearly shows that it expands beyond. Focusing on disruptive technology, Salvia is known for its initial investment in German biotechnology champion BioNTech and has many years of corporate building expertise to actively support Wingcopter’s growth path. .. Founded by machine vision pioneer Enis Ersü, XAI technology adds value thanks to the team’s deep knowledge and experience in the areas of sensor technology and industrial automation. Registered in the Fortune Global 500 Index, ITOCHU is one of Japan’s largest trading companies, opening new doors to the promising Japanese market.
With the new funding, Wingcopter will be able to further expand its drone delivery service globally and increase production of Wingcopter 198, the world’s most efficient eVTOL delivery drone. Wingcopter continues to grow in demand for new unmanned aerial vehicle systems. Already sold most production slots this year and next year. Wingcopter’s production facility in Germany is designed to produce thousands of Wingcopter drones annually, and will soon begin partially automated production operations, significantly speeding up the production process.
In addition, Wingcopter will use capital injections to accelerate its R & D efforts on new product features, hiring 80 new employees in all departments within the next few months. The new capital increase will take place shortly after the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) approves the Wingcopter 198 airworthiness standard. This marks an important milestone in the US type certification process for the company’s flagship aircraft.
“Wingcopter creates efficient and sustainable drone solutions to save and improve lives. To this end, we employ a passionate pioneer in building things that never existed before. “. Tom Plümmer, Co-Founder and CEO of Wingcopter.. “New funding and increased revenue put us in a good position to establish industry-leading drone delivery solutions with customers around the world to optimize our supply chain.”
Christoph Elze, REWE Group Digital, Customer and Analytics and IT Board Member, Adds: “REWE Group is one of the most innovative companies in the German retail industry. For many years, we have relied on strong partnerships with innovation leaders, especially in new trends. Using Wingcopter, this I found a new partner like. “
“With disruptive technology and an ambitious team, Wingcopter has the potential to become a front runner in drone delivery spaces. Faced with global challenges such as climate change, industries like logistics are sustainable and more efficient. We need innovative companies such as Wingcopter to lead us to a successful future. We are delighted to be able to accompany this success story as an investor and sparring partner in the future. ” Helmut Jeggle, Founder and Managing Partner of Salvia..
“We are excited to join the Wingcopter team on our way to the next growth milestone as a leader in drone delivery logistics,” he explains. Enis Ersü, Managing Owner of XAI Technology and Former CEO of ISRAVISION.. “The team of XAI Technology, an investor and technology partner, is very excited to create more business potential by integrating advanced key technology and outstanding operational excellence with management. . “
Drone delivery has gained tremendous momentum over the last few years, with more and more businesses and governments understanding the potential for fast, environmentally friendly on-demand delivery with autonomous freight drones. This is fully emphasized by the recent partnership agreement between Wingcopter and Continental Drones. It aims to deploy 12,000 Wingcopter drones over the next few years to deliver the long-awaited product across sub-Saharan Africa by building a new layer of infrastructure in the sky. Other authorized partners that act as strong local operators or distributors in their respective regions include ITOCHU in Japan and Synerjet in Latin America, both of which are Wingcopter investors in addition to signing partnership agreements. became.
In Malawi, where the company has been active since 2019, Wingcopter is in line with its goals, expanding its network operations with the new Wingcopter 198 drone and more hubs, including emergency medicine and COVID vaccines. Transport your medicine to a telemedicine center. To save and improve the lives of people around the world.
About Wingcopter
Wingcopter is a German manufacturer of eVTOL, Fixed-Wing Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Systems (UAS), a provider of drone delivery services, optimization of the medical supply chain, and the last one mile of packaging, tools, spare parts, food and groceries. Focus on logistics. .. A strong team of 120 people is dedicated to improving and saving the lives of people around the world through meaningful commercial and humanitarian applications. Wingcopter is a technology pioneer in the World Economic Forum.
Thanks to the patented tilt rotor mechanism and software algorithms, the Wingcopter 198 takes off and land vertically like a multicopter, flying long distances as efficiently and quickly as a fixed-wing aircraft, even in heavy rain and strong winds. I can do it.
Wingcopter’s investors include REWE Group, Salvia, XAI Technologies, Xplorer Capital, Future Capital, ITOCHU, DRONE FUND, SYNERJET, Expa, Hessen Kapital III and Corecam Capital Partners.
For more information, please visit www.wingcopter.com.