Drone Delivery Startup Skye Air Secures $4M in Series A Funding

Skye Air, a drone delivery startup, has secured $4 million in Series A funding. The round was spearheaded by Mount Judi Ventures and included contributions from Chiratae Ventures, Venture Catalyst, Windrose Capital, and Tremis Capital. Other participants comprised Faad Capital, Misfits Capital, Hyderabad Angels, Soonicorn Ventures, several existing investors, family offices, and angel investors.

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Skye Air intends to utilize the newly acquired funds to enhance its last-mile delivery infrastructure across Gurugram and additional urban centers, focusing on sectors including healthcare, e-commerce, and quick-commerce. Over the next 18 months, the company plans to expand its team to approximately 200 members. Furthermore, Skye Air aims to integrate drone deliveries into its logistical framework, which promises to optimize delivery efficiency and notably reduce turnaround times. This initiative is underscored by its recent milestone in conducting a successful BVLOS drug delivery flight in partnership with Flipkart Health.

Established in 2019 by Ankit Kumar and Chandra Prakash, Skye Air provides drone-based logistics solutions to a range of industries, such as healthcare, e-commerce, quick-commerce, and agri-commodity. Additionally, the startup has developed Skye UTM, a cutting-edge unmanned traffic management system that oversees drone traffic, promotes safety, and enables effective communication between drones and air traffic controls.

The drone sector in India is on the brink of substantial expansion, driven by favorable government policies and rising demand for efficient logistics solutions. Apoorva Ranjan Sharma, Founder and Managing Director at Venture Catalysts, emphasized the need for an innovative logistics system to cater to India’s diverse and expansive landscape. He highlighted that drone-based last-mile deliveries are leading this transformative shift. Sharma also underscored the impact of current governmental policies on the UAV ecosystem, such as promoting local production through a ban on drone imports and implementing rigorous certification processes to ensure safety and quality. These measures have catalyzed a surge in drone startups and attracted significant investments to this pioneering logistics solution.

According to a joint report by EY and FICCI, India’s drone and components industry has the potential to elevate its manufacturing capacity to approximately $23 billion (Rs.1.92 lakh Cr approximately) by 2030. Sharma further projected that the industry’s growth will escalate from Rs 2,900 crore in 2020 to Rs 81,600 crore by 2025.

Skye Air, a drone delivery startup, has successfully secured $4 million in Series A funding, with plans to use the funds to strengthen its last-mile delivery infrastructure and integrate drone deliveries into its logistical framework. The company also aims to expand its team to approximately 200 members over the next 18 months. The Indian drone sector is anticipated to experience substantial expansion, driven by supportive government policies and increasing demand for efficient logistics solutions, with significant projected industry growth by 2025.