Wingcopter Raises $42M, Teams Up With One of the Largest Grocery Retailers in Germany

Wingcopter just announced that it managed to raise $42 million in its latest funding round, with one of its investors being Rewe Group, one of the largest grocery retailers in Germany, with 12,000 stores across Europe. Japan-based trading company ITOCHU is also one of the latest shareholders to come on board, along with Salvia, a company that invests in deep tech and science startups, and XAI Technologies, which specializes in sensor technology and industry automation.

The money raised by Wingcopter in this funding round will help it ramp up production of its Wingcopter 198 (W198) delivery drone. The UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) features a triple-drop system and is touted as the first drone in the world that can make three deliveries to multiple locations on a single charge.

Wingcopter will also focus on expanding its drone delivery services globally, invest in research and development, and hire around 80 more people across all departments within the following months.
The German eVTOL developer says its production facility in Germany is also preparing to soon start automated production work. Wingcopter boasts of being capable of manufacturing thousands of drones per year and by automating the process, it will speed up the production even more. That’s good news considering that last month, the company announced the “largest commercial deployment in the global delivery drone industry,” with 12,000 of its W198 drones to be deployed throughout Africa over the next 5 years.

The Wingcopter 198 is the company’s flagship delivery drone, with a wingspan of 78” (198 cm). It can reach a top speed of 90 mph (144 kph) and can fly at altitudes of up to 5,000 m (16,400 ft). The drone can carry payloads of 11 lb (5 kg) for 46 miles (75 km) on a charge and smaller payloads of just 2.2 lb (1 kg) for up to 60 miles (95 km).