SiFly Raises $20 Million to Scale U.S. Production of Long-Endurance Drones

Series A funding will support Q12 manufacturing, customer deliveries, and development of the company’s DronePort system

SiFly Aviation has raised $20 million in Series A funding to expand U.S. production of its long-endurance Q12 electric drone.

Shield Capital led the financing round, with participation from Qudit, BBK Capital, Alumni Ventures, and other investors. SiFly plans to use the funding to increase production and support customer deliveries. The company will also continue development and field testing of its DronePort multi-drone infrastructure system.

Headquartered in Santa Clara, California, SiFly develops U.S.-made autonomous aerial systems for public safety, infrastructure inspection, and enterprise operations.

Extending Multirotor Flight Time

SiFly designed the Q12 to address one of the main limits of traditional multirotor drones: flight endurance.

According to the company, the Q12 can fly four times longer and up to 10 times farther than leading enterprise drones. It can carry payloads of up to 10 pounds.

SiFly says it has tested the aircraft through thousands of flights and hundreds of flight hours. The Q12 also completed a flight lasting 3 hours, 11 minutes, and 54 seconds. That flight earned a Guinness World Record for the longest electric multirotor flight in its weight class.

“Most multirotor drones were designed for short flights close to the operator. We built the Q12 to combine the agility, precision hover and vertical takeoff and landing of a multirotor drone with the efficiency, range and speed of a fixed wing aircraft,” said Brian Hinman, Founder & CEO of SiFly. “This financing allows us to scale production, fulfill our growing backlog and support successful customer deployments.”

The company sees potential applications across public safety, utilities, infrastructure, and agriculture.

For public safety agencies, longer endurance can provide greater response coverage and more time on station. When paired with DronePort, SiFly says the aircraft can support Drone as First Responder operations. Utilities could inspect more infrastructure during each flight. Agricultural operators could cover more acreage with fewer aircraft and launches.

“For drone operators, greater endurance translates into faster response, broader coverage and lower cost per mission,” said Ray Rothrock of Shield Capital. “SiFly is positioned to redefine how drones are used across mission-critical applications—including public safety, critical infrastructure and agriculture—where value is directly tied to the productive work each aircraft can deliver.”

Scaling U.S. Drone Manufacturing

The investment comes as U.S. government policy and supply chain concerns continue to increase attention on domestically produced drones.

SiFly describes the Q12 as a U.S.-made platform and plans to use part of the new funding to expand its manufacturing and supply chain capabilities.

The company will also invest in customer operations and regulatory capabilities as it works toward wider deployment. Funding will support further development and field validation of DronePort, which is designed to provide infrastructure for multi-drone operations.

The financing moves SiFly from extensive aircraft testing toward a larger production and deployment phase. The company says the goal is to meet growing demand while expanding the operational capabilities needed to support customers at scale.

Read more:

• Versaterm and SiFly Partner to Expand Long Endurance Drone Support for Public Safety
• Flying Into the Future: SiFly’s Q12 Breaks Drone Endurance Barriers
• From Drone to Helicopter: SiFly Redefines UAV Design for Endurance and Value