The German start-up wants to supply rural regions better. The European Investment Bank is now making 40 million euros available for this.
(Photo: Wingcopter)
Weiterstadt The delivery drone start-up Wingcopter has created new financial leeway. The European Investment Bank (EIB) is providing the company with 40 million euros, which will be treated as equity. The company announced this on Thursday morning. The start-up now wants to use the money to expand the production of its latest drone model, the Wingcopter 198.
Wingcopter was founded in 2017 by Tom Plümmer, today the company’s CEO, together with fellow students from Darmstadt. They developed an electric high-flyer that can carry five kilograms of freight up to 100 kilometers. The drone is considered efficient, also thanks to additional wings with a span of around two meters.
The EIB’s investment is backed by the European Commission’s Invest-EU programme, which supports companies in the area of sustainable infrastructure, among other things. “Invest EU will continue to promote investments that will enable Europe to assert itself as a world leader in the development and manufacture of innovative products,” said EU Economic Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni in a statement by Wingcopter.
The young company has already completed several rounds of financing. In 2021, Wingcopter raised $22 million from investors, and another $42 million was added last summer. At that time, the retailer Rewe, among others, got involved. According to his own statements, he sees Wingcopter as a partner for the future. In view of this, the money that is now being provided by the EIB is a significant sum for the drone builder.
It has long been known that Plümmer and his team are looking for further financing options. Because the production in Weiterstadt near Darmstadt is to be expanded. The hall there is sufficient for the construction of several thousand drones per year. The company wants to manufacture the aircraft, which have not yet been approved, in three shifts in the future. Robots can also help with this.
“We want to become the global leader in drone delivery of urgently needed goods – from medical goods to food,” says Plummer. In the summer, Wingcopter wants to test the transport of food and other consumer goods in southern Hesse. The pilot project is supported by the Frankfurt University of Applied Sciences and the Federal Ministry for Digital Affairs and Transport.
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