Terra Drone today announced it has raised $14 million in Series C funding from Wa’ed Ventures, the venture capital arm of Saudi Aramco.
The Japan-based company, which builds drone software, hardware and unmanned aerial vehicle operations management software, said the new capital has allowed it to raise a total of $97 million since its inception in 2016. At the time Terra Drone shut down last March, the company was valued at over $200 million, according to sources familiar with the situation. $70 million Series B.
The move is in line with Saudi Arabia’s “Vision 2030” plan, which sets goals to reduce the country’s dependence on hydrocarbons and promote the use of drones in services. For example, a fossil fuel company in Saudi Arabia plans to use Terra Drone technology for inspection services. Drones are supposed to detect oil leaks and more. Saudi Aramco is the world’s largest oil producer and plans to increase fossil fuel production in the next few years, despite scientific consensus that such activities are destroying the planet’s climate. .
Terra Drone director Teppee Seki told TechCrunch that the company joined a drone program run by Saudi Aramco for Saudi Vision 2030 last year.
With this funding, Terra Drone will establish Terra Drone Arabia, a new subsidiary wholly owned by Terra Drone, to further facilitate drone inspections in the region. In addition, the company plans further international penetration in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) through a new office in Saudi Arabia.
Terra Drone currently provides drones and UAM solutions to 10 countries. Denmark will use Terra Drone’s unmanned aerial traffic management (UTM) in Danish Health Drones and its Health Drones project to deliver blood and medicines. Terra Drone’s inspection UT drones have been certified for ship inspection by the International Register of Shipping, the Japan-based startup said. His UTM provider, Unifly, owned by Terra Drone, is also based in Europe and North America.
The company says sales at the subsidiary have increased by more than 50% since the last round of funding.
Terra Drone CEO Toru Tokushige founded Terra Drone in 2016 to develop drones such as global air traffic management that prevents collisions by enabling safe and efficient drone and urban air mobility operations. I developed the software.
Wa’ed Ventures Fahad Alidi, Managing Director, said, “Our investment, backed by Terra Drone’s global track record, is a compelling opportunity to build a UAM ecosystem in the Kingdom that drives a sustainable economy. “We anticipate rapid adoption of UAM technology as an emerging technology area in the region, and Terra Drone will help localize innovation across the Kingdom and beyond. It is in a good position for
Note: The original version of this article has been updated to include Unifly’s presence in Europe and North America.
