Skydio raises $230M to increase drone production in the United States

Skydio, an American drone manufacturer and the industry leader in autonomous flying, made the announcement today that it has completed a Series E round of funding, which was headed by Linse Capital.

This takes the total amount of money that Skydio has raised to $562 million, and the drone maker is currently valued at over $2.2 billion.

The enterprise customer base of the company has grown to over 1,200 organizations, and the company's drones are now being used by every branch of the United States Department of Defense, more than 200 public safety agencies in 47 states, more than 60 energy utilities, and more than half of all State Departments of Transportation in the United States. Skydio is utilized by businesses operating in over a dozen different areas at the same time.

Skydio has become the most successful drone manufacturer in the United States thanks to the success of its autonomy technology. Its drones are currently being utilized for difficult inspection duties and gaining situational awareness in potentially life-threatening scenarios.

According to Adam Bry, co-founder, and CEO of Skydio, “We are still in the early innings of the industry, but we are seeing extraordinary demand globally from organizations addressing needs important to every citizen. Drones enable the core industries that our civilization runs on—transportation, public safety, energy, construction, communications, defense, and more—to operate more safely and more efficiently, by putting sensors wherever they're needed, whenever they're needed, while keeping people safely on the ground. The transition to autonomy delivers a step change in the accessibility and utility of drones by removing the need for an expert pilot.”

Skydio drone maker grows rapidly

Skydio has been recognized as one of the fastest-growing companies in North America in the Deloitte Technology Fast 500 awards as a result of its growth of 30 times over the course of the previous three years.

According to the manufacturer of drones, this expansion comes at a time when geopolitical tensions are on the rise, which has increased the demand for reliable and safe drones to serve customers in the vital infrastructure, public safety, and defense industries.

Skydio addresses these difficulties by utilizing autonomous flight technology that is at the forefront of innovation worldwide and combining it with manufacturing scale in the United States.

The number of people working for the organization has increased across the board by forty percent over the past year. Skydio also disclosed the opening of its brand-new production facilities in the United States. Located in Hayward, California, these new facilities span more than 36,000 square feet and represent a tenfold increase in capacity.

Skydio anticipates adding more than 150 manufacturing positions to its facilities in Hayward, California, as well as other sites in the United States, to continue to fulfill demand and service its rapidly expanding global customer base.

Bastiaan Janmaat, Managing Director, Linse Capital, said, “Skydio drones are being used to save lives and aid in the maintenance of critical infrastructure in ways that sounded like science fiction just a few years ago. We couldn't be more excited to continue our partnership with Skydio as they solidify their position as the world's most innovative Drone Technology company.”

Skydio has also announced the debut of Skydio Dock and Skydio Dock Lite, both of which are powered by the company's newly developed Remote Operations software. These products enable drones to be flown without an operator being physically present.

Also, the firm has just developed Regulatory Services, which are beginning to break through the Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) barrier. These services provide approvals for clients to operate Skydio drones beyond line of sight, including entirely remote operations.

An inflection point has been reached in the sector due to the combination of technological advancement and advances in regulatory framework for completely autonomous operations.

Henrik Kuhl, SVP, Strategy & Corporate Development at Axon, added, “Drones bring substantial value in maintaining public safety, in particular in terms of increasing visibility and providing a first line of communications for First Responders. Skydio fills a critical need in making that value more readily accessible to key stakeholders such as law enforcement thanks to the power of autonomy. We are excited to continue our go-to-market and technology partnership with Sky