Skydio Investment Soars by Another $170 Million
Total investment up to date surpassed $340 million
The announcement is the latest chapter in the stunning Skydio story. Introduced in 2019, Skydio's autonomous platform was breakthrough technology for the industry. For the commercial industry, this new level of autonomy allows complex missions to be performed with accuracy – without depending entirely upon the skill of the human pilot. The company had already received the largest investment round in the drone industry with $100 million in July of 2020: this new round of Skydio investment "brings total funding raised to over $340 million with a current valuation of over $1 billion," says the company announcement. "With the additional capital raised, Skydio will further accelerate product development and global sales expansion to support the rapidly growing demand for its autonomous drone solutions."
Skydio II
Skydio drones are manufactured in the U.S., which has also proved an important selling point for government customers as the U.S. government moves away from Chinese-manufactured technology platforms. Skydio's government and public safety solution, the Skydio X2D, was included on the U.S. government Blue sUAS list: a short list of only 5 vetted and approved secure platforms. The U.S. government has also indicated recognition of drone technology as an essential platform, providing Skydio and other drone companies with CARES Act funding during the pandemic.
It's the autonomy platform, however, that has really made Skydio stand out – in the consumer, commercial, and government markets. "Over the last year Skydio has made significant progress in every market category," says the press release. "From the continued adoption of Skydio 2 by consumers, to the largest ever enterprise drone deal with EagleView for residential roof inspection, to the downselection for final integration as part of the Army Short Range Reconnaissance Program, Skydio has been chosen in a myriad of deployments across construction companies, departments of transportation, energy utilities, and police departments. Leading enterprises and public sector organizations, including Jacobs Engineering, Sundt Construction, the US Civil Air Patrol, Ohio Department of Transportation, North Carolina Department of Transportation, Boston PD, and Sacramento Metro Fire Department, rely on Skydio autonomous drones for infrastructure inspection, search and rescue, situational awareness, emergency response and many more use cases."
It's the autonomy platform, however, that has really made Skydio stand out – in the consumer, commercial, and government markets. "Over the last year Skydio has made significant progress in every market category," says the press release. "From the continued adoption of Skydio 2 by consumers, to the largest ever enterprise drone deal with EagleView for residential roof inspection, to the downselection for final integration as part of the Army Short Range Reconnaissance Program, Skydio has been chosen in a myriad of deployments across construction companies, departments of transportation, energy utilities, and police departments. Leading enterprises and public sector organizations, including Jacobs Engineering, Sundt Construction, the US Civil Air Patrol, Ohio Department of Transportation, North Carolina Department of Transportation, Boston PD, and Sacramento Metro Fire Department, rely on Skydio autonomous drones for infrastructure inspection, search and rescue, situational awareness, emergency response and many more use cases."
