Drone Racing League (DRL), the US-based operator of a sporting league for unmanned aerial vehicles, has completed a $20m series B round co-led by media companies Sky and Liberty Media.
Sky and Liberty co-led the round with venture capital firm Lux Capital, while additional participants included Allianz, the insurance firm that is also DRL’s main sponsor, as well as sports entertainment provider World Wrestling Entertainment and Hearst Ventures, a subsidiary of media group Hearst.
The series B participants were rounded out by VC firms RSE Ventures, Lerer Hippeau Ventures and CRCM Ventures, and entertainment and media-focused VC fund Courtside Ventures.
Founded in 2015, DRL operates a competitive league for drone pilots, and closed the series B round in advance of its second annual competition, now known as the Allianz World Championship, later this month. The six-race league follows the inaugural contest in 2016.
The league will be broadcast in more than 75 countries by partners including ESPN, Sky network Sky Sport and ProSiebenSat.1 Media, the Germany-based media group that was among DRL’s series A investors.
DRL raised $12m in the September 2016 series A round, which was co-led by RSE Ventures and Lux Capital with participation from ProSiebenSat.1, Hearst Ventures, CAA Ventures, which invests on behalf of talent agency CAA, Courtside Ventures, Sierra Maya Ventures and various angel investors.
Nicholas Horbaczewski, founder and chief executive of DRL, said: “We are incredibly proud to announce new partners and investors aligning with DRL to solidify drone racing as the sport of the future.
“Over the past 18 months, we have committed to building a technology company that can capture the imagination of new sports fans around the world. The support we have from some of the most respected brands and investors is helping us rapidly realise that vision.”
LionTree Advisors was DRL’s financial advisor for the round while Morrison Foerster was legal advisor.
– Image courtesy of Drone Racing League