TDK Ventures, the corporate venturing arm of electronics company TDK, exclusively announced an investment of undisclosed size in Germany-based electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft developer AutoFlightX on stage today at the GCVI Summit 2020.
The deal marks the fourth investment for TDK Ventures, a wholly-owned subsidiary equipped with a $50m fund launched in July 2019 and led by Nicolas Sauvage, who had provided insights into the unit during a fireside chat on the first morning of the summit.
Founded in 2017, AutoFlightX is working on electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft that are able to function as electric heavy-duty cargo drones and air taxis.
The company’s initial aircraft is able to carry payloads of up to 20kg and fly for up to five hours continuously. A second platform can carry up to 100kg and is particularly well suited for the delivery of drugs and time-sensitive supplies.
AutoFlightX is also developing a much larger aircraft that it expects will hold up to four passengers and have a range of up to 300km with a single charge. It plans to conduct initial flights of this later in 2020.
Anil Achyuta, investment director at TDK Ventures who was instrumental in closing the deal, explained that AutoFlightX convinced the team because its combination of speed, payload, range and noise “were extremely favourable”.
The company also required no demanding charging infrastructure to cover large distances, a challenge facing traditional drones used in logistics currently, he said.
AutoFlightX, which maintains research and development centres in Shanghai and Shenzhen, China, in addition to its headquarters in Munich, Germany, will now look to tap into TDK’s expertise and international presence.
Sauvage added: “We believe AutoFlightX’s innovations reflect a combination of the best consumer drone talent from China paired with the aviation engineering rigour of Germany.”
Sauvage’s decision to announce the investment during the GCVI Summit 2020 underlined its importance as the event to be at for anyone in corporate venture capital, he said. TDK Ventures had previously also benefitted from the GCV Academy in the run-up to its fundraising efforts.
Tian Yu, chief executive and founder of AutoFlightX, explained: “TDK’s multi-dimensional core competency in sensors, energy and power makes them our strongest partner so far.
“As we look into the horizon of tomorrow’s mobility, we are committed to bringing high-endurance eVTOL vehicles with the best reliability and safety.
“We are thrilled to have TDK as our partner because they are world leaders in commercialising advanced technologies and supporting hard-tech entrepreneurs like us.”
