Robotic Skies, a maintenance marketplace for drones, says it has entered a strategic funding partnership with Hearst Ventures, the corporate venture arm of Hearst.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but in a news release Monday, Robotics Skies indicated that the funding would be used to support continued growth and product development.
Robotic Skies’ focus on drone maintenance comes at a time in which investors are craving opportunities to deploy capital as the aviation industry re-enters a white-hot space, especially in the last two years.
Since its 1995 start, Hearst Ventures has deployed more than $1 billion of venture funds.
Robotic Skies joins a growing group of strategic transportation-themed investments to which Hearst Ventures has begun allocating some of its larger investment portfolios, including the Drone Racing League; Dronebase, an aerial data analytics company; and FreightWaves, a transportation media firm founded by FLYING CEO Craig Fuller.
In a statement, Robotic Skies CEO Brad Hayden called it a “robust ecosystem” and said his company was proud to be counted among these industry innovators, adding that Hearst is a “powerful partner.”
Growing Investment in Aviation
David Famolari, managing director at Hearst Ventures, said, “Aviation is witnessing a Cambrian explosion of innovation,” comparing this new investment period to the periodic shift of mainframe computers to PCs, and which led to the “modern IT support industry, these next-generation aircraft signal a similar transition within the aviation maintenance industry.”
Just recently, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act was passed, which includes provisions for unmanned aircraft systems and advanced air mobility infrastructure, and garnered the support of industry organizations such as the National Business Aviation Association and National Air Transportation Association.
Hayden said Robotic Skies is working with the aviation community of regulators, standards bodies, service centers, manufacturers, and operators to adapt, scale and distribute certified maintenance and support for next-generation aircraft across the globe. The Robotic Skies field support infrastructure includes over 235 independently owned and operated FAA Part 145 repair stations, and their equivalents outside the USA, to serve customers across 50 countries.
In January 2021, Hayden was appointed to the FAA Drone Advisory Committee to help develop a strategy for the safe integration of drones into the National Airspace System.
