Drone infrastructure startup Skyports has set up two offices in South Korea after signing a joint venture with Marine Drone Tech (MDT).
Skyports designs and builds vertiports for drone take-off and landing. It also provides drone delivery services.
“Korea is a market that is well-known for its forward-thinking and innovative technology ecosystem. Our partnership with MDT brings together two market leaders and will see us rapidly scale up drone operations across Korea,” said Alex Brown, director, Skyports Drone Services.
The Skyports South Korea offices have been established in Busan and Yeosu and marks the company’s latest expansion in Asia.
Headquartered in London, the company last year added to its global presence by opening an office in Japan and stated its drone network should be fully operational by 2025.
Speaking to UKTN, Skyports said that it was recently awarded £250,000 in funding from the UK government’s Pioneers Fund.
The firm is currently in the process of “evaluating” the funds for its previous Scottish school meal delivery and NHS trials.
Last July, Skyports teamed up with airline operator AirAsia in Malaysia to explore the possibility of a flying taxi network in the country. MDT is a drone delivery platform designed to provide maritime last-mile delivery solutions.
Mr Hwang Eui-Cheol, CEO of Marine Drone Tech, said: “Together, we will be able to offer customers a complete solution that will address a broad range of challenges in multiple industries.”
Skyports is using the £21.4m in Series B capital, which the company closed in August, to fuel its growth.
It is the latest activity from UK drone companies this year, with BT starting tests of hydrogen-powered 5G drones, while autonomous cargo drone startup Dronamics raised £33.5m.
The post Drone startup Skyports zooms into South Korea appeared first on UKTN | UK Tech News.
