Fri, Dec 03, 2021
Japanese Venture Company Buys In As Wingcopter Vets Local Companies for Partner Program
The Japanese venture capital investment company DRONE FUND III, an advanced air mobility and unmanned systems partnership, selected German outfit Wingcopter for their first eVTOL and drone investment target. The move follows Wingcopter's association with another of Japan's aerospace companies, ANA Airlines, in 2020. That joint effort separately plans to roll out a drone delivery network to improve product availability in the sparsely populated, demographically geriatric rural regions of Japan. The investment caps off a good year for Wingcopter, filling their coffers after a series of successful test rollouts to hit the ground running in 2022.
Japan is a highly drone-friendly country, already a world leader in customer-facing automata. The government approved the creation of its national commercial drone roadmap in 2017 to set out targets and milestones for commercial UAV development and has continuously tailored and updated it to keep in time with new technology. The country faces a looming population bust that could be greatly and effectively blunted with sufficient unmanned technology throughout the economy. Ubiquitous delivery drones could set a highly visible example of the tech worldwide if the service is expanded past the rural areas for urban delivery.
Wingcopter's interest in the island nation has been long standing. With specifics as-yet unannounced, the company is on the verge of completing a strategic partnership agreement with one of the largest general trading companies in the country, where the local partner will become a Wingcopter distributor and technical support contact for the newest drone systems. Wingcopter's Authorized Partnership Program (WAPP), has been their standard in rolling out the needed infrastructure for their systems across the world, allowing the company to focus on the high-level technical aspects of building their products. WAPP partners are responsible for providing resale, promotion, distribution, and pilots in-country with approved standards.
“We have seen the air logistics network in Japan developing at an accelerated pace with the lifting of the ban on Level 3 flights in 2021. Wingcopter is one of the most reliable and cutting-edge eVTOL hardware, software and AI providers in the world, with successful experience in Japan," said Kotaro Chiba, managing partner of Drone Fund. "We are honored to be able to invest in such a great team. We look forward to working with the Wingcopter team to contribute to the development of drone logistics in Japan and abroad.”
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