Japanese electric UVA company Terra Drone receives 8 billion yen in Series B financing
Founded in 2016, Terra Drone, an electric uav company headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, is a drone company developing drone software, hardware and traffic management solutions for drone systems. Terra Drone has about 500 worldwide Customers include oil and gas companies such as Shell, Chevron, BP, ExxonMobil, ConocoPhillips, Vopak and Japan's Inpex Corporation, as well as chemical companies such as BASF and Kansai Electric Power. Terra Drone has 60 employees, while its subsidiaries have around 500 employees worldwide.
The company said Wednesday that it has closed a $70 million (8 billion yen) Series B round led by Mitsui & Co. The latest round brings the total to $83 million, following a $14.4 million Series A in February 2021.
Other investors SBI Investment, Tokyu Land Corporation, Kushu Electric Power, Seika Corporation.
Teppei Seki, chief operating officer of electric uav company Terra Drone, told TechCrunch that the company will use the B-Series to increase headcount and drive its global expansion in Europe, the U.S. and Southeast Asia. The funds will also be used to acquire companies in those regions, Seki said, without disclosing the company's valuation.
The company acquired Terra Inspectioneering, a Dutch-based drone company, in 2018 and invested in Belgian drone company Unifly in 2016.
In addition, the startup said its proceeds will be used to support autonomous over-the-horizon technology for drone and air taxi operations through its Unmanned Aircraft Systems Traffic Management solution, and to enhance the development of Terra's UAM service.
