Wingcopter receives funding from Drone Fund

This is the first time the Japanese drone fund has invested in a German company.

German delivery drone start-up Wingcopter has received funding from Drone Fund. The Japan-based venture capital firm specializes exclusively in drone and air mobility startups. The investment comes from the funder's $90 million fund, Drone Fund III Investment Limited Partnership. The investment comes ahead of a Series B round of funding from Wingcopter.

Never before had the Japanese drone fund invested in a German start-up or one that relies on so-called "eVTOL drone technology". Japan is an extremely important market for Wingcopter. The company already maintains close ties with the East Asian country. Since 2020, the company signed a partnership agreement with Japan's largest airline ANA. The latter wants to work with Wingcopter to set up a nationwide drone-based delivery network. The aim is to improve the quality of life in rural areas. In addition, Wingcopter says it is close to signing a strategic partnership agreement with one of Japan's largest "Sōgō Shōsha," as Japanese trading companies are known. The relationship with Japan is also based on the fact that drones have long been more integrated into everyday life there. Japan's government is actively driving this development.

Wingcopter makes what it calls "eVTOL unmanned aerial systems (UAS)." The company is dedicated to improving and saving people's lives through commercial and humanitarian applications. For example, the startup focuses on optimizing supply chains of medical goods. In the future, wingcopters will also deliver packages, tools and spare parts, as well as food and groceries. Wingcopters should be able to take off and land as if they were vertical, but also fly long distances as efficiently and quickly as a fixed-wing aircraft - even in heavy rain and wind. Wingcopter's existing investors include Xplorer Capital, Futury Regio Growth Fund, Futury Ventures, Hessen Kapital III and Corecam Capital Partners.