Design software provider Autodesk has participated in a $53m series D round for US-based unmanned aerial vehicle technology provider 3D Robotics (3DR) that was led by growth equity firm Atlantic Bridge.
The round, which consisted of equity funding and the conversion of debt, included True Ventures, Foundry Group, Mayfield and undisclosed additional investors.
Autodesk invested through its Forge fund, having initially become a 3DR shareholder in June 2016, the same month as the company raised $26.7m in financing according to a regulatory filing. 3DR has not disclosed whether that financing formed part of the series D.
Founded in 2009, 3DR moved from developing drone components to providing the drones themselves but has since pivoted to concentrate on its Site Scan software, which enables drone users to better control the device’s flight and cameras.
The series D capital will be used to further develop Site Scan with an eye to marketing the system to the construction and agriculture industries. It comes after approximately $99m of funding in total.
Qualcomm Ventures, SanDisk Ventures, Shea Ventures and O’Reilly AlphaTech Ventures (OATV), respective subsidiaries of mobile chipmaker Qualcomm, flash storage technology provider SanDisk, property developer JF Shea and media company O’Reilly, contributed to 3DR’s previous round, a $64m series C closed in 2015.
The round also included Atlantic Bridge, Foundry Group, True Ventures, Mayfield Fund and WestSummit Capital, and came after a $5m series A in 2012 and a $30m series B the following year, both of which were backed by OATV.