Funding marks first time venture capital company has invested in eVTOL maker

Japan’s Drone Fund III has made an undisclosed investment in Wingcopter, the company announced Wednesday.

Drone Fund III is the third fund from Drone Fund, a venture capital company specializing in drone and air mobility-related startups. Wingcopter said the investment is the first for the fund in an electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft company.

“This investment comes at a time when we are intensifying our efforts on the Japanese market. We are convinced that the Drone Fund team will open doors, allowing us to bring drone delivery services to more customers in Japan and beyond. It also makes us really proud that we are the only eVTOL drone company in their portfolio of about 50 investments. I believe the investment is testament to the fact that the Wingcopter 198 is really leading the way of delivery drone technology,” Tom Plümmer, CEO of Wingcopter, said in a statement.

Plümmer noted that Wingcopter is in advanced talks with investors on a series B round of funding. The German company’s last funding came via a $22 million series A round announced in January. Current investors include Xplorer Capital, Futury Capital, Expa, Hessen Kapital III, and Corecam Capital Partners.