Japan-based drone software developer Terra Drone secured $70m on Tuesday in a series B round featuring conglomerate Mitsui, mechanical equipment producer Seika, energy utility Kyushu Electric and property developer Tokyu Land.
The participants were filled out by SBI Investment, a subsidiary of financial services provider SBI, as well as Japan Overseas Infrastructure Investment Corporation and Venture Labo Investment, the last billed as an existing backer.
Terra Drone provides hardware and software for industrial unmanned aerial vehicles, for use in surveying, inspection and surveillance. It counts the likes of oil and gas producers Chevron and Shell, chemical producer BASF, agribusiness Bunge and engineering firm Aecom among its customers.
The company had previously raised $14.3m in a February 2021 series A round backed by oil and gas supplier Inpex and financial services firm Nanto, the latter through corporate venturing unit Nanto CVC.
Terra Drone said it is increasingly focused on solutions for air traffic management, as more vehicles are set to take to the air in the future. It has been working with Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency to coordinate flight management for both crewed and uncrewed flights.
Terra Drone’s founder and chief executive, Toru Tokushige, said: “A focus on increasing recurring revenue through the sale of survey-grade hardware and cloud-based software such as Terra Lidar, providing specialised solutions such as ultrasonic thickness measurements and non-destructive testing using drones through Terra Inspectioneering and a strategic consolidation of overseas business has made us well-positioned for success.”
