Deep-tech firm backs drone delivery

Deep-tech venture capital firm Main Sequence Ventures has led a $16 million Series B investment round in drone delivery company Swoop Aero.

The investment follows Swoop delivering medical supplies across Africa over two years, delivering more than 800,000 individual items.

The company says the new investment will enable it to enter new markets, scale up its integrated logistics networks and expand its Australian manufacturing. At the same time, Swoop plans to continue developing its medical supplies delivery services in Africa.

Impact investment-focused fund manager Giant Leap has contributed to the new funding round along with In-Q-Tel, the non-profit organisation that invests on behalf of the national security community of the US and its allies. Also contributing to the round, and both investing in the company for a third time, are Artesian and Folklore Ventures.

Manufacturing partner, composites products company Quickstep, which builds Swoop Aero’s Kite airframes, is also a strategic investor in the round. Quickstep is already scaling up Kite production at its Port Melbourne factory.

Main Sequence Ventures Partner Mike Nicholls said: “After looking at many drone companies throughout the years, we are proud to back Swoop Aero for building a full aircraft operation system from the ground up to comply with civil aviation regulations around the world. Every time a Swoop aircraft takes off, it eliminates the cost, time and emissions needed to send a delivery by vehicle. Swoop Aero is leading the way, benchmarking the future of logistics technology and aviation, in turn making high impact, equitable and quality logistics networks a reality.”

Swoop Aero chief executive Eric Peck said the company’s success to date was illustrated by operational achievements including progressive expansion of its Malawi and DR Congo networks, supporting organisation VillageReach, to improve the accessibility and availability of routine and emergency health supplies.

Additionally, Swoop’s technology had been provided to selected partners to enable the expansion of beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) drone operations across new verticals including ship-to-shore deliveries for high-value goods and mail delivery in Europe.

“Drone delivery is about more than delivery,” Peck said. “It’s about establishing a new infrastructure layer which leverages the skies for movement of goods and delivery of services in a way that hasn’t been possible in the past. Swoop Aero makes it possible today, and our goal is to scale that infrastructure layer country-by-country so our integrated drone logistics service reaches one billion people by 2030.”

In Australia, accessing the skies above cities would require approval from the Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) and the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA). Swoop Aero is working with the two authorities on a world first drone certification project which it hopes will make this possible and will simplify similar processes in other countries.

Image: Accessing medical supplies delivered by Swoop Aero.