Germany-based airborne vehicle developer Volocopter confirmed today it has expanded its series C round to €87m ($94m), raising new funding from investors including rail operator Deutsche Bahn’s DB Schenker subsidiary.
DB Schenker invested $21.7m according to Deutsche Startups, and was joined by Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance and MS&AD Ventures, both subsidiaries of insurance group MS&AD, as well as TransLink Capital Partners, which is backed by insurer Sompo Japan and airline operator Japan Airlines.
Venture capital firm Btov Partners and private investor Lukasz Gadowski also added new funding. The company had secured $55.2m in a September 2019 first tranche led by automotive manufacturer Zhejiang Geely Holding Group.
Volocopter is developing an aerial electric vehicle designed to be the basis for an urban airborne taxi service. It has tested the vehicles in Germany, Finland and Singapore and expects to begin operating commercially in two to four years once regulatory clearance has been received.
Jochen Thewes, chief executive of DB Schenker, Deutsche Bahn’s logistics subsidiary, has joined the company’s advisory board, which already includes Geely Holding Group vice-president Yifan “Frank” Li.
Thewes said: “We are convinced that the Volocopter technology has the potential to bring transport logistics to the next dimension for our customers. DB Schenker has already tested autonomous and electrical vehicles in several innovation projects and in actual operations.
“By integrating the VoloDrone into our supply chain of the future, we will be able to serve our clients’ demand for fast, remote, emission-neutral deliveries.”
Carmaker Daimler joined Lukasz Gadowski and undisclosed other private investors in a $34.8m round for Volocopter in August 2017 before semiconductor and data technology provider Intel and Btov Partners supplied another $5.8m three months later.
