Industrial equipment producer Siemens led a $100m series C round for US-based unmanned aerial vehicle developer Skydio yesterday through its Next47 subsidiary.
The round also featured NTT Docomo Ventures, the corporate venturing arm of mobile network operator NTT Docomo, as well as Levitate Capital and existing backers including Andreessen Horowitz, IVP and Playground Global.
Skydio manufactures drones equipped with autonomous flying software that utilises computer vision and machine learning technology. It will channel the series C funding into product development as it seeks to boost its customer base among enterprises and in the public sector.
Next47 general partner TJ Rylander said: “The drone market has reached a critical mass of commercial revenues and top-down buying behaviours, solidifying our thesis that now is the right time to invest.
“Skydio has what we firmly believe is the best autonomy stack in the world. While their innovation is in the software, they also developed the hardware to create an integrated product that fully capitalises on autonomous capabilities. We are excited to be a key partner in their growth.”
The company closed a $42m series B round in early 2018 it said brought its overall funding to $70m. Although it did not specify the round’s participants it named graphics processing technology provider Nvidia, IVP, Playground Global, Andreessen Horowitz and Accel as investors.
Image courtesy of Skydio, Inc.
