Weiterstadt, GERMANY – Drone services start-up Wingcopter just got loaded; and will use its new-found wealth to expand its drone delivery services globally and ramp up production of its new eVTOL delivery drone, the Wingcopter 198.

Yesterday, Wingcopter said it had raised $42 million from financial and strategic investors, as part of a Series A extension round. The new investment has tripled the company’s total equity to more than $60 million to date.

The money was raised from German retailer REWE Group as well as German investors Salvia and XAI technologies came on board as new shareholders.

They were joined by Japanese conglomerate ITOCHU and previous backers Futury Capital from Germany and Silicon Valley-based Xplorer Capital.

The drone company is also hoping REWE’s investment will go beyond just money; specifically, Wingcopter has dreams of expanding its delivery portfolio beyond just medical supplies to grocery packages – in which case REWE will come in handy.

But back to the present; with the success the company has experienced working in Malawi and other parts of the world, Wingcopter says it has been experiencing a growing demand for its Wingcopter 198 line of drones, selling most production slots for this and next year.

There has never been a better time like now for capital injection, with the company’s production facility in Germany set to get busier and testing its capacity to manufacture thousands of Wingcopter drones annually.

“Wingcopter plans to use the capital injection to accelerate the firm’s R&D efforts with regards to new product features and to hire 80 new employees across all departments within the next months,” the company said in a statement.

“The new capital raise comes shortly after the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) had approved the Airworthiness Criteria for the Wingcopter 198, which marked a critical milestone in the U.S. Type Certification Process of the company’s flagship aircraft.”

Besides that, Wingcopter says it will expand its network operations in Malawi – where the company has been operating since 2019 – with more hubs and Wingcopter 198 drones; to transport more medical goods like emergency medicines and COVID vaccines to more remote health centres in the southern African country

“At Wingcopter, we create efficient and sustainable drone solutions to save and improve lives,” CEO and Co-founder Tom Plümmer said. “For this, we are hiring passionate pioneers with whom we build what has not existed before.

“The new funding, combined with growing revenues, puts us in an excellent position to establish our industry-leading drone delivery solution with our customers around the globe to optimize supply chains.”

The new investors have also chipped in with a few remarks, starting with:

Christoph Eltze, Executive Board member Digital, Customer & Analytics and IT at REWE Group: “REWE Group is one of the most innovative companies in German retail. For years, we have relied on strong partnerships with innovation leaders, especially in emerging trends. With Wingcopter, we have found such a new partner.”

Helmut Jeggle, Founder & Managing Partner of Salvia: “With its disruptive technology and highly motivated team, Wingcopter has the potential to become a frontrunner in the drone delivery space. In the face of global challenges such as climate change, innovative companies such as Wingcopter are needed to lead an industry like logistics into a sustainable, more efficient future. We are pleased to accompany this success story from now on as an investor and sparring partner,” adds

Enis Ersü, Managing Owner of XAI technologies and former CEO of ISRA VISION: “We are excited to join the Wingcopter team on their way to the next growth milestones as a leader in drone delivery logistics. Being an investor and a technology partner at the same time our team at XAI technologies is very much looking forward to generating further business potential by integrating advanced key technologies and operational excellence together with the management.”