U.S-based PteroDynamics, an aircraft design and manufacturing company that develops VTOL aircraft, announced this week the close of a USD7.5 million seed round, reports a press release. The round was co-led by existing investor Kairos Ventures and new investors Lavrock Ventures and CS Venture Opportunities Fund.
Founded in 2017 by Dr. Val Petrov, PteroDynamics “has developed a revolutionary and patented design for VTOL aircraft called Transwing that folds/unfolds its wings during flight to transition between rotor wing and fixed wing configurations,” explains the release. “The result of this design is that Transwing aircraft have a smaller ground footprint while being able to fly farther, faster, longer, and/or carry heavier payloads than other VTOL aircraft of a similar size and weight. This is critical for everything from drone delivery to air taxis with extensive government, defense, industrial, and commercial applications as well.”
The capital raised will support PteroDynamics’ plans to develop larger Transwing aircraft variants and enter the commercial sector.
Dr Val Petrov
Dr. Petrov, Founder and Chairman, commented, “This is an exciting milestone for us. We look forward to our continued partnership with Kairos along with our new investors Lavrock and CS, to bring innovation that will expand the applications of our Transwing aircraft.” Todd Thomson, CFO of Kairos Ventures, said, “As long-standing supporters of PteroDynamics, we are looking forward to supporting the next exciting phase of growth.”
Quinten Stevens, General Partner at CS Venture Opportunities Fund, added, “We invest in transformative technologies and believe the company’s Transwing VTOL aircraft technology is fundamentally changing VTOLs capabilities with its unique configuration that has numerous applications in both the commercial and defence markets.”
PteroDynamics has already secured an ‘Other Transaction Authority (OTA)’ contract with the U.S Navy’s Naval Air Warfare Centre Aircraft Division (NAWCAD) to supply three Transwing aircraft for its Blue Water Maritime Logistics UAS program. Additionally, the company has been awarded four SBIR/STTR contracts with the Air Force and has sold multiple Transwing aircraft for test and evaluation to various U.S. defence contractors.
Matthew Graczyk, CEO and Board Director of PteroDynamics, remarked, “The superior capabilities of our Transwing aircraft platform for certain missions offers significant commercial and defence applicability. Our goal is clear: we want to be the established leader in VTOL aircraft for long-range and long-endurance missions in both the public and defence sectors. This investment will accelerate our ability to execute on that goal.”
Background
PteroDynamics is a venture-backed aircraft design and manufacturing company that has developed a novel vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) aircraft design called Transwing® that folds its wings during flight to transition between rotorcraft and fixed-wing configurations. Protected by four issued and 14 pending patents in the U.S. and ten international jurisdictions, Transwing aircraft have improved controllability in takeoff and landing, require typically 1/3 of the ground footprint, and can fly faster and farther and carry more payload than competitive designs of a similar size and weight.
For more information
https://www.pterodynamics.com/
https://www.kairosventures.com/pterodynamics/
(All images: PteroDynamics)