Unmanned Traffic Management (UTM) system provider Unifly N.V. (Unifly), announced €10 Million funding from Terra Drone Corporation (Terra Drone) and Japan Overseas Infrastructure Investment Corporation for Transport & Urban Development (JOIN).
The proceeds will be used to continue product development and solidify our position as the most reliable and sustainable UTM system provider.
Japanese government fund JOIN has announced its decision and receipt of approval from the Minister of the Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism of Japan, to invest in the Belgium-based world’s leading provider of the UTM system, together with Japan’s industrial drone solution company, Terra Drone.
Through this investment, JOIN and Terra Drone intend to support the development of the UTM system which enables safe and efficient drone and aircraft flight management. This project marks JOIN’s first investment in the drone industry.
Founded in 2015 by Air Traffic Management and Drone experts, Unifly has been recognised as one of the top UTM system providers – by not only winning 7 national level contracts including NAV CANADA, Canadian Air Navigation Service Provider (ANSP), but also German ANSP – DFS Deutsche Flugsicherung GmbH – being one of its major shareholders. Diverse and notable shareholders are backing the long-term success of Unifly. Utilising Terra Drone’s knowledge and network, Unifly intends to expand UTM worldwide.
Toru Tokushige, CEO of Terra Drone:
“Our airspace is going to get more crowded than ever. There’s an urgent need for a global traffic management solution to enable safe and efficient drone and UAM operations. Terra Drone aims to be the leading player building the digital infrastructure in the sky together with Unifly.”
Tatsuhiko Takesada, President & CEO at JOIN:
“Through its equity participation in Unifly, JOIN expects to contribute to the realization of safe and secure aircraft, airport and port operations and enhancement of drone operation management. JOIN aims to support the expansion of the use of drones in a wide range of fields and further build its growth in the drone industry.”
Andres Van Swalm, co-founder of Unifly:
“The investment of Terra Drone and JOIN strengthens Unifly’s position as the sustainable UTM partner for the future. Unifly is here to stay– we are very happy to announce our new shareholder and continue with existing shareholders. This investment enables us to continue to build on the success of Unifly and pursue our vision of enabling autonomous aviation.”
In the last twelve months, Unifly reached significant milestones including but not limited to the following:
- Canadian ANSP NAV CANADA launched Nav Drone together with Unifly, to support flight authorisations as part of the nationwide UTM system, available on web and mobile devices, providing supervisor users and drone operators with the necessary tools to safely fly drones in the Canadian airspace.
- Spanish ANSP Enaire awarded a contract for automated and digital drone management platform (U-Space) to Indra in partnership with Unifly and Airbus, with the objective to go live with a U-Space compliant system in 2023.
- Port of Antwerp has developed and launched a UTM platform
together with Unifly, to digitalise and automate requests for drone flights by operators. Port of Antwerp has become the first seaport in the world to manage its own airspace as a geozone manager, with a focus on coordinating safe drone operations in the port area.
Source: Press Release