ST Engineering Ventures is the latest investment firm to back Skyports with its US$3.13-million investment toward the vertiport developer and commercial drone operator’s Series B funding round.
This brings Skyports total funds raised in this round to US$26.13 million, a significant jump from its Series A round when the company secured US$6.9 million in December 2019 — later increased to around US$8 million after Irelandia Aviation joined the round in March 2020.
ST Engineering and Skyports have been working together since 2021, with joint projects in reservoir monitoring and inspection through drone services for Singapore’s Public Utilities Board. The companies also formed a consortium in early 2022 to provide unmanned aircraft services for ship-to-shore parcel delivery in Singapore.
“ST Engineering has been a strong partner of ours for some time now and we are honored to develop that relationship further with the company joining Skyports as an investor,” said Duncan Walker, CEO of Skyports. “We look forward to bringing our expertise together to expand our capabilities.”
Other Series B investors include Japanese conglomerate Kanematsu Corporation, global industrial property group Goodman Group, Italian airport platform 2i Aeroporti (backed by Ardian’s Infrastructure Fund and F2i Italian Infrastructure fund), and U.S.-based venture capital firm GreenPoint.
The U.K. infrastructure company also recently expanded its ties to Asia through a partnership with AirAsia to explore air taxi vertiport development in Malaysia. The letter of intent will see the companies conduct a one-year joint feasibility study to look at the integration of air taxi vertiport infrastructure, identify potential vertiport sites, and develop operational requirements and frameworks to implement a vertiport network in Malaysia — with an initial focus on the country’s capital, Kuala Lumpur.
Skyports is not the only advanced air mobility (AAM) company that the airline operator has been working with in Malaysia. Last year, the company announced future plans to lease 100 of Vertical Aerospace’s VX4 eVTOL aircraft from Avolon.
“Following the announcement of our venture into the urban air taxi service earlier this year, we have been working around the clock to explore its feasibility in Malaysia,” said Ling Liong Tien, chief safety officer and head of AAM at AirAsia Aviation Group. “This partnership with Skyports will accelerate the review of the infrastructure, including vertical take-off and landing platforms in the country, as well as strengthen our potential as a zero-emissions ultra-short-haul air travel provider in Southeast Asia.”
