PteroDynamics raises $7.5m in latest seed round
PteroDynamics has completed a $7.5m seed round led by Kairos Ventures, Lavrock Ventures and CS Venture Opportunities Fund.
The funds raised will help PteroDynamics develop larger Transwing aircraft variants, attract engineering talent and adapt its aircraft for new mission types in the commercial sector.
PteroDynamics, founded in 2017 by Dr. Val Petrov, has developed the Transwing, a revolutionary and patented design for VTOL aircraft that folds/unfolds its wings during flight to transition between rotor wing and fixed wing configurations.
PteroDynamics CEO, Matthew Graczyk, said “The Transwing aircraft platform has significant applicability for defense and commercial missions, and their goal is to become the established leader in VTOL aircraft for such missions. He further added that the investment will help accelerate their ability to achieve this goal.”
PteroDynamics has been awarded an Other Transaction Authority (OTA) contract by the US Navy’s Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division (NAWCAD) to supply three Transwing aircraft for its Blue Water Maritime Logistics UAS programme. Furthermore, the company has received four SBIR/STTR contracts from the US Air Force, has formal teamings, and has sold multiple Transwing aircraft for testing and evaluation to various US defence contractors.
The wing of PteroDynamics’ Transwing XP-4 UAS tilts and folds between vertical and forward flight. (credit: PteroDynamics)
The firm has also teamed with Leidos to bid for a DARPA X-plane project. The project will demonstrate a long-endurance vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) uncrewed aircraft system (UAS) able to operate from warship flight decks or austere land locations without additional infrastructure.
Leidos is proposing PteroDynamics’ Transwing configuration for DARPA’s Advanced Aircraft Infrastructure-Less Launch and Recovery (Ancillary) project to demonstrate an aircraft that could operate without runways, launch catapults or recovery systems, yet carry as much as a Group 3-class UAS in a much smaller airframe.
