After securing funding from Singapore-based Corecam Capital Partners last December, Darmstadt-based manufacturer of eVTOL (electric vertical take-off and landing) drones Wingcopter has announced that it landed further funding from the multi-family office. The amount was not publicly disclosed.

WHAT THEY DO

Wingcopter’s transport drones, developed for humanitarian and civil applications, have been used in projects delivering medicines, vaccines, blood and lab samples over long distances to areas that are hard to reach.

In 2018, the startup was awarded a commercial contract by the Vanuatu government to trial the delivery of vaccine supplies to Vanuatu’s remote island communities.

It also worked with DHL and German development agency GIZ in Tanzania on a pilot to deliver medicines to Ukerewe Island, Lake Victoria.

Wingcopter said both trials showed that, with use of their drones, patients had to wait less to receive the supplies needed.

WHAT IT’S FOR

Since the announcement of Corecam’s first investment at the end of the last year, the startup has been involved in projects including delivering 90 kg of medicines in Malawi to an area that was partially cut off following flooding.

The German startup says it has seen a lot of commercial interest in their technology recently.

Martin Lechner, managing partner of Corecam, said they were supporting Wingcopter “to enable the team to successfully implement their ambitious growth plans”.

The startup now plans to grow its team from 45 to 70 team members in the following months.

THE LARGER TREND

The use of drones to deliver medicines has been touted as a way to transform the way we access certain medical supplies.

But last year, Swiss Post and Matternet, who had been working on projects transporting lab samples by drone between hospitals in Switzerland, had to put their work on hold after two incidents in which one drone had to make an emergency landing and another crashed near a group of children.

The partners announced earlier this year that they would resume operations after a panel of reviewers said they maintained “high safety standards and a high level of safety awareness”.

ON THE RECORD

“With the additional capital, we will continue to expand the team in order to be able to meet the high demand and to accelerate the further development of the Wingcopter,” said Wingcopter CEO Tom Plümmer.

Philipp Weber, venture capital partner at FPS Law and member of the Wingcopter advisory board, added: “Wingcopter has been able to impressively demonstrate the capabilities of the Wingcopter drone in flight operations in recent months, among other things through flights in aid projects. The further investment by Corecam is an important step towards rapid growth.”