Wingcopter raises $22 million in funding round to expand into North America

German drone company Wingcopter has raised $22 million in its latest funding round to expand into North America and advance its technology. The company will also use the funds to strengthen its leadership in the market, deliver COVID-19 vaccines, and launch the next delivery drone.

The company’s latest funding round was led by Xplorer Capital and Futury Regio Growth Fund, with Futury Ventures and Hessen Kapital III participating.

The $22 million in funding will allow Wingcopter to do more in the drone-based logistics space, focusing on COVID-19 relief and delivering vaccines to those who need them the most.

The company’s current drone, the Wingcopter 178 Heavy Lift, will soon be joined by its bigger brother, with some of the funding going into developing a new drone with a more extensive range and payload capacity. The next-generation drone is almost ready to go, with pre-orders being accepted already.

Tom Plümmer, CEO of Wingcopter, shared:

This chapter of our journey is dedicated to setting up logistical highways in the sky that leapfrog traditional means of transportation. Poor infrastructure has always been a barrier, especially for healthcare provision, impacting billions of lives – a situation further exacerbated by COVID-19. With the support and powerful networks of our investors we are taking a huge step closer to fulfilling our vision of creating efficient and sustainable drone solutions that improve and save lives everywhere.

Wingcopter will also increase its manufacturing capabilities with a new 77,500-square-foot facility opened at its new German-based headquarters. The company plans to open a serial production line consisting of many stations for a specific step in the assembly process.

As mentioned above, Wingcopter will open a new US facility to allow flight testing, certification, drone manufacturing, and software development to all be done from the country. In theory, this should enable Wingcopter to offer “Made in USA” drones that satisfy the needs of government agencies.

Jonathan McQueen, cofounder and managing partner of Xplorer Capital, added:

The Wingcopter team combines entrepreneurial spirit with superior technology know-how and looks back on an impressive number of worldwide drone projects. This is what it takes to conquer a rapidly growing market such as the international drone market. We are excited to support Wingcopter on its flight towards becoming a global leader in the international drone business and look forward to working together with the team and founders.

Check out the rest of our coverage on Wingcopter and the amazing work it is doing:

• Wingcopter announced as Technology Pioneer by WEF
• Wingcopter, Merck complete first drone delivery trial
• German drone manufacturer Wingcopter scores new funding

Photo: Wingcopter