Israeli drone logistics startup Flytrex, which specializes in food and consumer good deliveries via unmanned aircraft systems, has raised $7.5 million in a series B funding round led by Benhamou Global Ventures, with additional investment from Btov. The investment follows a $3 million Series A funding round in June 2017, bringing the company’s total raised to $10.5 million.
Flytrex is a provider of autonomous on-demand urban drone delivery services. Its drones deliver everything from sushi and beers to retail goods in as little as four and a half minutes, the company says.
The latest round will be used to scale up operations and improve Flytrex’s existing drone delivery services, and provide seed funding for the North Carolina program, set to be launched later this year. The North Carolina expansion builds on a pilot program that was conducted last year where Flytrex paired up with North Carolina’s Department of Transportation “to test deliveries from restaurants to businesses.”
The program, named in full the Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Integration Pilot Program, was established by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and is aimed at expanding testing of commercial drone operations through partnerships with private entities.
“Drone delivery is taking off, and we are delighted that BGV and Btov will be joining us in making drone deliveries a global reality,” Flytrex CEO and Co-Founder Yariv Bash was quoted as saying.
“This investment is a vote of confidence in Flytrex’ ongoing success propelling the drone industry forward and in our vision of making UAV delivery the rule, rather than the exception,” he added.
The latest funding round follows the debut of Flytrex’s aerial mail delivery program in Ukraine. It also comes after the company’s launch, in August 2017, of its delivery services in Reykjavik, the capital city of Iceland, in collaboration with AHA, one of the country’s largest e-commerce companies.
In September 2018, Flytrex teamed up with King’s Walk Golf Course outside Grand Forks, North Dakota, and US drone services provider EASE Drones, to launch the first golf course delivery system in the US.
Flytrex was founded in 2013 by Yariv Bash, best known as the co-founder of SpaceIL, and Amit Regev.
Source: nocamels