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European law firm Fieldfisher has advised Dronamics, the world’s first cargo drone airline with license to operate in Europe, on a Pre-Series A funding round to raise US$40 million from venture capital funds and angel investors from 12 countries.
The amount raised includes funding from Founders Factory, Speedinvest, SeedBlink, Eleven Capital, and most recently the Strategic Development Fund (SDF), the investment arm of the Tawazun Council, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
SDF venture capital division’s investment in Dronamics is a step in the creation of a UAE-based joint venture (JV) that will expand Dronamics' capacity and support the future establishment of Dronamics’ operations in the UAE as one of the main hubs for the Middle East and North Africa region.
Through the establishment of a manufacturing and operations JV, SDF will become a main partner in the UAE-based JV with additional significant investment.
The funding round precedes Dronamics’ planned Series A financing round and is intended to give the company the financial momentum to begin production of its cargo delivery drones, and launch middle-mile transport services.
Dronamics’ Black Swan drones are designed for middle-mile clients who normally have to wait days or even weeks for delivery by road transport.
The US$40 million raised in the Pre-Series A round is in addition to a €2.5 million (US$2.7 million) grant Dronamics was awarded by the European Commission via the selective deep-tech European Innovation Council (EIC) Accelerator programme.
The EIC has made a material commitment to support Dronamics’ Series A round with another €12.5 million (US$13.45 million) in equity investment.
The Fieldfisher team advising Dronamics was led by Corporate Partner Tom Ward from the firm's Emerging Companies and Venture Capital (ECVC) team, supported by corporate associate Chris Galley and with regulatory law advice provided by Competition Partner Nick Pimlott and associate Asfand Gulzar.
Commenting on the funding round, Corporate Partner Tom Ward said:
"This was a fantastic deal for one of our innovative emerging company clients. Our ECVC team have had the privilege of working with Dronamics since their early days of securing seed funding for their cargo drone delivery technology and business vision, so it is a pleasure to see them secure such definitive backing at the Pre-Series A stage as they head into their larger Series A round.
"Congratulations to Svilen and the team."
Svilen Rangelov, co-Founder and CEO at Dronamics said:
"As always, Fieldfisher did an amazing job and we're very thankful for their dedication and expertise throughout the process to secure Pre-Series A funding.
"This funding not only provides us with the resources needed to accelerate our growth, but it also validates the strength of our business model and the potential for long-term success."