- Japan’s Terra Drone was established in 2016 to become the leading Urban Air Mobility & drones technology company in an industry projected to reach $1.5 trillion by 2040
- Previously, Terra Drone raised over $80 million in Series A and Series B from leading institutional investors like Mitsui & Co. Ltd., and SBI Investment Co. Ltd
- The company is the first Asian company to receive funding from Wa’ed Ventures after the VC expanded its mandate to target global companies back in Q3 2022.
Saudi Arabia, January 25, 2023 – Terra Drone, the Japan-based leading drone and Urban Air Mobility technology (UAM), announces closing a $14 million bridge round led by Wa’ed Ventures, the Kingdom-focused venture capital arm of Aramco.
Through this investment, Terra Drone plans to open a new subsidiary in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to localize its drone services as well as to continue to serve the global autonomous vehicles market expected to grow to $1.5 trillion by 2040, as projected by Morgan Stanley.
Terra Drone has been in business since 2016, the dawn of the drone era, with a mission to evolve the world from the sky,” said Toru Tokushige, founder and CEO of Terra Drone Corporation. “Six years later, we are now approaching a future where drones and aerial vehicles will no longer be a novelty. We have built up a solid track record both domestically and internationally up to this point, and have grown to be recognized as the top drone service provider in the world. Saudi Aramco’s investment in Terra Drone through its VC arm Wa’ed Ventures is another example of the global recognition for our achievements, which raises the expectations for our team as we continue to push forward and lead Terra Drone to the forefront of the global innovation track.”
“Supported by the global track record of Terra Drone, our investment represents Wa’ed’s commitment towards building the UAM ecosystem in the Kingdom, one that circles around sustainable economy” said Fahad Alidi, Managing Director at Wa’ed Ventures. “We foresee rapid adoption for drone services in numerous industries, and Terra Drone is well-positioned to localize their proprietary technology across the region, starting with the Kingdom.”
Wa’ed Ventures’ investment comes as additional support to the $83 million already raised in previous funding rounds by Terra Drone. Earlier rounds included participation from Mitsui & Co. Ltd, SBI Investment Co. Ltd, Tokyu Land Corporation, and Seika Corporations; some of the largest institutional investors in the Asian market.
The company has been recognized as one of the world’s largest providers of industrial drone solutions and has ranked number two in the “Drones Services Company Worldwide Ranking, 2022”, conducted by the global drone market research organization, Drone Industry Insights.
The startup has served more than 10 countries worldwide since its founding in 2016, providing drone hardware and cloud-based software in over 1,000 projects, with an aim to create a “drone and air mobility-based society”, according to the founder.
About Terra Drone
Founded in 2016, Terra Drone is a leading drone and Urban Air Mobility (UAM) technology with a mission of “evolving the world from the sky.” Our indigenous and patented drone surveying and inspection solutions are being leveraged by the oil and gas, chemical, and construction industries in Japan and abroad. Our systems for unmanned traffic management (UTM) and efficient flying cars have also been introduced in eight countries around the world. We’ve been ranked No. 2 in the world in the “Top commercial drone service providers ranking 2022” by Drone Industry Insights, a global drone market research organization http://www.terra-drone.net
About Wa’ed Ventures
Wa’ed Ventures is a $200 million institutional venture capital firm wholly owned by Saudi Aramco to promote economic diversification and new business growth in the Kingdom by investing in high-growth tech startups across multiple sectors. Established in 2013, Wa’ed Ventures manages a portfolio of 50+ startups, providing end-to-end support to startups from funding to providing access to partner resources. The company is located in the city of Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. For more information, please visit: www.waed.net
