Drone infrastructure startup Skyports has closed its Series B funding round with a $3.13m (£2.56m) investment from ST Engineering’s venture capital arm, ST Engineering Ventures.
It brings Skyports’ Series B to a total of $26.13m (£21.4m). The company announced its first close back in March with a £23m raise.
Headquartered in London, Skyports builds landing pad infrastructure – known as vertiports – for electric vehicle take-off and landing (eVTOL) vehicles. It also has a drone services division.
ST Engineering started working with Skyports last year on reservoir monitoring, drone inspection and ship-to-land deliveries projects in Singapore.
“The Asian market is a critical area of growth for AAM [advanced air mobility], and one we are committed to cultivating. Investment from Kanematsu Corporation, and now ST Engineering, demonstrates that our confidence in and focus on this market is well-founded and supported by industry leaders from across the region,” said Duncan Walker, CEO, Skyports.
Earlier this year Skyports, ST Engineering along with Sumitomo Corporation created a consortium for the aforementioned Singapore ship-to-land deliveries.
Last week the company announced plans to begin working with airline operator AirAsia on a potential flying taxi network in Malaysia.
Skyports is one of the many startups developing technology to transport products and people through the skies in small and predominantly electric aircraft.
The market, also known as urban air mobility, could be worth $1tn by 2040, according to Morgan Stanley.
Dealroom estimates the value of European urban air mobility startups currently stands at $7.9bn.
Soo Soon Teong, VP and head of unmanned air systems, ST Engineering said: “Our investment in Skyports stems from our confidence in the future of Advanced Air Mobility, and the expertise that Skyports has and continues to grow in building towards that future.”
Last month Skyports begin a trial to deliver school meals to a primary school in Scotland.
Skyport’s Series B also attracted investment from the likes of Japanese conglomerate Kanematsu Corporation, property group Goodman Group and Italian airport platform 2i Aeroporti.
It comes at a time when investment in the UK aerospace technology is taking off, with the government recently revealing a £273m funding package to invest in technology such as flying taxis and drones.
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