Venture capital investee in administration
15 Oct 2024 - Performance
Main Sequence Ventures investee Swoop Aero has been placed in voluntary administration.
Simon Nelson of BPS Reconstruction and Recovery has been appointed administrator to Swoop Aero and associate Kookaburra Aerospace. The first meeting of creditors has been scheduled for 24 October.
Both companies are continuing to operate normally, under control of the administrator.
Port Melbourne-based Swoop designs, builds and operates aerial delivery drones which are used for tasks such as delivering medical supplies to remote communities.
Since raising $16 million in a Series B capital round in 2022, led by Main Sequence, Swoop has continued working to prove its technology overseas, particularly in Africa and island nations such as Malaysia and Vanuatu. The company has, however, said it has focused on providing profitable services.
Swoop was founded in 2017. Prior to administration, the company was led by chief executive former RAAF pilot Erick Peck and technical co-founder Andrew Thomas.
BPS Reconstruction and Recovery said: “The administrator is currently working with key staff and management in order to assess the viability of the business to continue trading with an aim of achieving a sale as a going concern, or alternatively recapitalisation, to obtain the best result possible for creditors and other stakeholders.”
In addition to Main Sequence Ventures, investors in Swoop Aero include Folklore Ventures, Right Click Capital, Artesian Venture Partners, Giant Leap and US government-backed In-Q-Tel.
Image: A Swoop Aero drone flies above the Yarra River.