UTM Player Unifly Raises €10 Million from Terra Drone and JOIN

Unifly Raises €10 Million from Terra Drone and JOIN

by DRONELIFE Staff Writer Ian M. Crosby

Unifly, a leading provider of Unmanned Traffic Management  (UTM) systems, has announced the acquisition of €10 Million in funding contributed by Japanese industrial drone solution company Terra Drone and Japan Overseas Infrastructure Investment Corporation for Transport & Urban Development (JOIN).

JOIN and Terra Drone are investing in Unifly in order to aid in the development of the company’s UTM system, which provides safe and efficient drone and aircraft flight management. This is JOIN’s first ever investment in the drone industry.

“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,” said JOIN President and CEO Tatsuhiko Takesada. “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.”

“Our airspace is going to get more crowded than ever,” said Toru Tokushige, CEO of Terra Drone. “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.”

Unifly, founded in 2015 by Air Traffic Management and Drone experts, has been recognised as one of the top UTM system providers. The company has been awarded 7 national level contracts by companies such as NAV CANADA, Canadian Air Navigation Service Provider (ANSP), with German ANSP Deutsche Flugsicherung GmbH acting as one of its major shareholders. Unifly seeks to bring UTM across the globe, and will leverage Terra Drone’s knowledge and network to do so.

“The investment of Terra Drone and JOIN strengthens Unifly’s position as the sustainable UTM partner for the future,” said Unifly co-founder Andres Van Swalm. “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.”

This is only the latest in a series of accomplishments for Unifly, which recently launched Nav Drone alongside Canadian ANSP NAV CANADA, and developed and launched a UTM platform with Port of Antwerp. Additionally, Spanish ANSP Enaire awarded a contract for automated and digital drone management platform (U-Space) to Indra in partnership with Unifly and Airbus, with plans to launch a U-Space compliant system by 2023.

Read more about Unifly and Terra Drone:

• Delivery Startup ORKID and Unifly Partner to Test Drone Operations in Colombia
• Drone Firm Unifly Joins Canadian BVLOS Project
• Terra Drone Financing: $70 Million Series B Raise to Accelerate Growth
• Terra Drone Funding: Leading Drone Solution Provider Scores $14.4 Million in Series A
• European Drone Industry: Terra Drone and Skytools Create Rotterdam Drone Hub

Ian attended Dominican University of California, where he received a BA in English in 2019. With a lifelong passion for writing and storytelling and a keen interest in technology, he is now contributing to DroneLife as a staff writer.