The company will establish a UAE-based joint venture with Strategic Development Fund, which will provide additional significant investment, as a main partner
Approaching its upcoming Series A fund round, leading global cargo drone airline, Dronamics secured a total of $40 million in pre-Series A funding from venture capital funds and angel investors from 12 countries recently. Founders Factory, Speedinvest, SeedBlink, Eleven Capital, and Strategic Development Fund (SDF), the investment arm of the Tawazun Council, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, were among the major contributors to the company’s pre-Series A funding.
The company noted that the freshly-raised amount of $40 million is in addition to the $2.7 million grant Dronamics was awarded by the European Commission under the selective deep-tech European Innovation Council (EIC) Accelerator program, and the EIC’s material commitment to support Dronamics’ Series A round with another $13.45 million in equity investment.
The co-founder and CEO at Dronamics, Svilen Rangelov remarked: “The investment from SDF, Founders Factory, Speedinvest, and Eleven Capital is a strong validation of our goal to bring our cargo drone solution to more people and businesses around the world. Their confidence in Dronamics confirms the strength of our business model and we are excited to continue growing and achieving success with the support of our investment partners.”
The drone firm believes that the SDF venture capital division’s investment is a step in the creation of a UAE-based joint venture that will expand Dronamics’ capacity and support the future establishment of Dronamics’ operations in the UAE as one of the main hubs for the Middle East and North Africa region. It said that SDF shall, through the establishment of a manufacturing and operations JV, become a main partner in the joint venture with additional significant investment.
The MD and CEO of SDF, Abdulla Naser Al Jaabari, commented, “SDF looks at investing in aerospace and mobility companies that can improve the movement of humans and cargo autonomously in a sustainable and cost-effective manner. When it comes to Dronamics, their economics are very promising and potential users of Dronamics would benefit from quick and efficient cargo deliveries. As one of Dronamics’ latest strategic investors, SDF will be working closely to support the ongoing growth of the company through the UAE and globally.”
Аs a leading developer and operator of large, long-range drones built specifically for cargo, 2014-born Dronamics identifies as the world’s first cargo drone airline with a license to operate in Europe. The company claims that its flagship Black Swan is able to carry 350 kg at a distance of up to 2,500 km enabling same-day shipping of pharma, food, e-commerce and spare parts.