Wingtra’s $22 million Series B funding earmarked to scale mapping and surveying drone activity

Swiss vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) drone manufacturer Wingtra has raised $22 million in a Series B funding round in an effort to scale what has thus far been successful activities with mapping and surveying customers.

Launched in 2017 and later raising $10 million in a Series A round, Zurich-based Wingtra is looking to expand its business by enhancing what it says is already industry-leading drone mapping and surveying tech. The company says it’s now the biggest producer of autonomous commercial VTOL craft, which rapidly collect data that associated software uses to create precise 2D and 3D models for customers in agriculture, mining, land management, environmental protection, and urban planning activities.

According to interviews Wingtra CEO Maximillion Boosfeld has given in announcing the $22 million in new financing, the company wants to develop its surveying drones and modeling applications to such a degree of automation that – once missions and objectives have been programmed – human actors simply stand back and wait for the results.

Wingtra’s second-generation drone, the WingtraOne GEN II, is already designed to be as easy to use as it is effective in gathering data. According to the company’s site, the craft provides a “simplified workflow and intuitive system (that) allows surveyors with little to no drone flight experience to fly with confidence after minimal training.” 

Onboard tech includes a 42 MP camera that can be mounted at oblique angles to capture wide areas of terrain for faster data gathering work. Its sensors provide down to one centimeter of horizontal accuracy, and Wingtra’s internal drone applications routinely operate their own audits of the condition and operation of craft hardware.

Wingtra says its drone surveying and mapping solutions can collect data needed for precision modeling 30 times faster than old-school human methods, cut costs involved by nearly 90%, and outperform rival aerial competitors.

Now flush with new investment funds, the company will seek to build on its list of clients that use Wingtra drones on over 100,000 annual flights in nearly 100 countries. Current customers include NASA, Ohio State University, Rio Tinto, Dow, the Kenya Red Cross, Texas A&M, and the US Army Corps of Engineers.

Participants in the Series B round include the European Innovation Council Fund, Verve Ventures, Ace & Company, DiamondStream Partners, and EquityPitcher Ventures.