Drone service and AAM vertiport specialist Skyports closes $26 million Series B round

Leading drone services and advanced air mobility (AAM) vertiport developer Skyports says it has received over $3 million in additional capital from Singapore-based ST Engineering, lifting the total of its now-closed Series B funding round to $26.13 million.

London-based Skyports initially opened the financing drive in March. The objective, said company officials, was to generate sufficient funding to fuel Skyports’ rapid ascension as a leading drone services provider, aerial consultancy, and builder of vertiports that will be used in AAM services like air taxis, which are expected to begin operation as early as 2024.

Participation by aviation group ST Engineering in the over-subscribed capital push was a welcome but not novel linkup between the two companies. Their relationship began in 2021, when Skyports and ST Engineering began operating joint drone reservoir monitoring and inspection services for Singapore’s Public Utilities Board, using beyond visual line of sight missions.

More recently, the two companies have been involved together in ship-to-shore UAV parcel deliveries to and from Singapore. That gave rise in May to a deal under which Skyports will construct drone services infrastructure at Singapore’s Jurong Port, which could feasibly become a precursor to the company being tapped to build vertiports needed for what’s expected to be robust future AAM activity in the city-state.

Read more: Skyports in cargo drone delivery infrastructure deal with Singapore’s Jurong Port 

The presence of ST Engineering as an investor further strengthens Skyports’ impressive roster of backers as it continues its expansion around the world. Previous subscribers to the Series B round included Deutsche Bahn Digital Ventures, Groupe ADP, Solar Ventus, Irelandia, Levitate Capital, global industrial property concern Goodman Group, Italian airport platform 2i Aeroporti, Ardian’s Infrastructure Fund, F2i Italian Infrastructure Fund, US-based venture capital firm GreenPoint, and heavyweight Japanese conglomerate Kanematsu Corporation.

Read: Skyports strikes new vertiport infrastructure partnership in Japan 

Skyports CEO Duncan Walker said the addition of ST Engineering to close the Series B round provided a significant boost to the company’s growth plans, particularly in the East.

“The Asian market is a critical area of growth for AAM, and one we are committed to cultivating,” Walker said. “Investment from Kanematsu Corporation, and now ST Engineering, demonstrates that our confidence in and focus on this market is well-founded and supported by industry leaders from across the region. ST Engineering has been a strong partner of ours for some time now and we are honored to develop that relationship further with the company joining Skyports as an investor.”