Volansi Inc., which provides vertical takeoff and landing, middle-mile drone-delivery services, today announced that it has closed $50 million in a Series B round of funding. The Concord, Calif.-based company said it will use the the investment to expand its team, launch new projects, and scale current initiatives in both the U.S. and emerging markets.

Volansi builds and operates long-range, heavy-payload unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). It also provides automated point-to-point delivery services for time-critical parts and urgent medical supplies for enterprise customers and the U.S. Department of Defense.

Drone services to expand worldwide

“The combination of our best-in-class cargo drones and unique software platform set us apart from others in the industry,” stated Hannan Parvizian, co-founder and CEO of Volansi. “Closing our Series B with such high-quality investors, especially during these challenging times, is further testament to the venture capital community’s confidence in our business and will allow us to keep pushing the envelope of mobility and robotics.”

The company has developed and brought to market autonomous drones, including the VOLY M20 and VOLY C10, which it claimed were the first of their kind. The VOLY C10, the workhorse of Volansi’s UAV fleet, can carry up to 10 lb. of cargo over 50 miles. The vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) aircraft has already performed operations in Africa, the Caribbean, and the U.S.

The VOLY M20 is a dual-role aircraft able to simultaneously carry up to 20 lb. of cargo in addition to 10 lb. of sensor payloads. It has a 350-mile range, a cruising speed of 75 mph, and more than eight hours of endurance for sensor operations.

Last month, the company signed a teaming agreement with the North Carolina Department of Transportation to begin commercial, middle-mile deliveries in that state.

Volansi impresses investors

Lightspeed Venture Partners and other investors previously provided $25 million in capital, and the third round of equity brings Volansi’s total funding to $75 million, said Parvizian. Icon Ventures led the startup’s Series C round, with participation from existing investors Lightspeed and Y Combinator, as well as new investors Harpoon Ventures and Merck Global Health Innovation Fund.

In addition, Volansi announced that Joe Horowitz, managing partner of Icon, and Barry Eggers, founding partner of Lightspeed, will join its board of directors.

“The drone market is very crowded with all sorts of players, but after getting to know Hannan and his team and doing an extensive amount of due diligence, especially with Volansi’s key customers and distribution partners, it became abundantly clear that the company is well-positioned to rapidly build a huge business,” said Horowitz. “We are particularly excited about Volansi’s unique ability to address the medical community with urgent vaccine delivery, particularly in looking ahead to a post-COVID world.”

“The Volansi team has made significant progress since Lightspeed led the company’s Series A back in 2019,” said Barry Eggers, founding partner of Lightspeed.

“With just over 65 team members in Northern California, Arizona, and Africa, we will continue to grow our team — adding engineers, developers, and operators, and building our support and success teams to reinforce our growing projects across the globe,” wrote Parvizian in a blog post.