Unifly jets to $5m series A

Belgium-based drone traffic management software provider Unifly, which spun out of research institute VITO, has closed a €5m ($5.3m) series A round featuring Qbic, an investor in university spin-outs in Brussels and Flanders.

Qbic is contributing financing alongside drone operator Terra Drone, which provided 80% of the capital in the round, and PMV, an independent investment company created by the Flemish government to support innovative projects in Flanders.

The latest capital injection brings Unifly’s total external funding to €6.3m and represents the single largest investment in an unmanned aircraft traffic management (UTM) software company in Europe, Unifly claimed.

Unifly was founded in August 2015 by a team of air traffic controllers, licensed professional pilots and software engineers. The company provides software that enables drone operators to safely integrate their aircraft into the manned aviation system.

Since Unifly launched its software in April 2016, the company has racked up more than 1,000 users, over 30% of whom are from outside Europe. Proceeds from the financing will be used to accelerate Unifly’s growth and expand its international sales.

As part of an effort to develop worldwide guidelines for unmanned traffic management, Unifly is partnering non-profit industry consortium Global UTM Association and standard-setting body International Organisation for Standardisation.

– Image of smartphone app Unifly Launchpad courtesy of Unifly.