Wingcopter, a company working on drone projects and air taxis, has secured funding from investors interested in revolutionizing air transportation. Following in the footsteps of other air mobility companies like Zipline and Lilium, Wingcopter has successfully raised funds to further its innovative work.
The German drone manufacturer has secured €40 million in funding from The European Investment Bank as a part of the European Commission’s InvestEU programme. The investment will be used to further develop the company’s hardware line and to launch a new business in logistics and delivery services with the help of its drones.
Additionally, the funding will be used to increase the production of its Wingcopter 198 model and to expand delivery services in Europe and abroad, as well as to accelerate its innovation efforts. The EIB investment is considered “quasi-equity.”
EIB Vice-President Ambroise Fayolle said, “This investment underlines our commitment to supporting entrepreneurs growing and building advanced green technology businesses in the European Union, strengthening our technological competitiveness, creating highly skilled jobs and opening up new markets, while preserving nature. We are proud to be supporting this European success story.”
Wingcopter co-founder and CEO Tom Plümmer added, “Our goal is also to improve lives by creating many jobs — in R&D and manufacturing at our headquarters in Europe, as well as in the countries where we provide services, where we train and qualify local young people to operate our drone delivery networks. It requires strong partners like the EIB to build reliable, efficient and safe delivery drone technology and logistics services.”
Wingcopter 198: All you need to know
Founded by Ansgar Kadura, Jonathan Hesselbarth, and Tom Plümmer in 2017, Wingcopter is a developer, manufacturer, and operator of unmanned eVTOL fixed-wing aircraft. The company focuses on the delivery of goods such as medicines to remote health facilities, packages, and food to private households.
Wingcopters can exceed the range and payload capabilities of commercial multi-copter drones. They can carry up to 5 kg and cover distances of up to 100 km. Running on pure battery power, the Wingcopter team, together with Hamburg-based ZAL Center of Applied Aeronautical Research GmbH, is currently developing a green hydrogen energy system to power Wingcopter’s drones for even longer flight times.
Notably, Wingcopter 198 is the world’s first triple-drop delivery drone and the company’s flagship product. It is a next-gen, versatile, and efficient electric vertical take-off and landing drone designed for a variety of applications including medical and commercial deliveries, humanitarian aid, and industrial inspections.
