Japan-based flying car developer SkyDrive has raised ¥1.5bn ($13.9m) from investors including digital media company Strive, internet company Yahoo Japan and diversified trading group Itochu.
Venture capital firm Energy and Environment Investment and investment firm Drone Fund filled out the round’s investors. Yahoo Japan and Itochu participated through respective subsidiaries, Z Corporation and Itochu Technology Ventures, while Strive invested through its third fund.
Flying car technology group Cartivator Resource Management’s aircraft, drones and automotive engineers founded SkyDrive. The company has been conducting unmanned flying vehicle flight tests since December 2018, intending to realise a manned flight demonstration by mid-2020 and achieve commercial distribution by 2023.
Having raised $390,000 from automotive manufacturer Toyota in June 2017 and $2.65m from Drone Fund’s second fund in November 2018, SkyDrive has raised approximately $18m to date.
