Skydio, a San Mateo, CA-based drone startup, raised $230 million in Series E funding, bringing its total funding raised to $562 million with a current valuation of over $2.2 billion.
The round was led by Linse Capital and joined by existing investors Andreessen Horowitz, Next47, IVP, DoCoMo, NVIDIA, the Walton Family Foundation, and UP.Partners, and new investors Hercules Capital and Axon.
The funds will be used to expand U.S. manufacturing and hiring as global demand for autonomous drones across public safety, defense, and infrastructure inspection continues to skyrocket.
“Drones enable the core industries that our civilization runs on—transportation, public safety, energy, construction, communications, defense, and more—to operate more safely and more efficiently, by putting sensors wherever they’re needed, whenever they’re needed, while keeping people safely on the ground. The transition to autonomy delivers a step change in the accessibility and utility of drones by removing the need for an expert pilot,” said Adam Bry, co-founder, and CEO of Skydio. “We are still in the early innings of the industry, but we are seeing extraordinary demand globally from organizations addressing needs important to every citizen.
Skydio is used by enterprises in over a dozen other industries, with more than 1,200 customers across the public and private sectors.
The company also revealed its new U.S. manufacturing facilities in Hayward, CA, which total over 36,000 square feet, a 10x increase in capacity. It expects to bring over 150 manufacturing jobs to its facility in Hayward, CA, and other U.S. locations, to continue to meet demand and support its rapidly growing global customer base.
Company: Skydio Inc.
Raised: $230.0M
Round: Series E
Funding Month: February 2023
Lead Investors: Linse Capital
Additional Investors: Andreessen Horowitz, Next47, IVP, DoCoMo, NVIDIA, the Walton Family Foundation, and UP.Partners, Hercules Capital and Axon
Company Website: https://www.skydio.com/
Software Category: Autonomous Drones
About the Company: Founded in 2014, Skydio is a drone manufacturer that uses artificial intelligence to create flying drones that are used by consumers, enterprises, and government customers. Skydio designs assemble and supports its products in the U.S. from its headquarters in San Mateo, CA, and manufacturing facilities in Hayward, CA, to offer the highest standards of supply chain, manufacturing, and data security. Skydio drones are now used by every branch of the U.S. Department of Defense, by over half of all U.S. State Departments of Transportation, by over 200 public safety agencies in 47 states, and across more than 60 energy utilities.
Source: https://www.skydio.com/blog/skydio-raises-230-million-series-e-funding-round