Raises an additional 360 Million yen in Series A funding
-Strengthening the Development Structure to Accommodate the Expansion of Doppler LiDAR Use Cases and Accelerate U.S. Business Development in the U.S. and Further Strengthening Alliances with Operating Companies and VC Firms-
Metro Weather Co., Ltd. (Head Office: Uji, Kyoto; President & CEO: Jun-ichi Furumoto; hereinafter “Metro Weather”) develops and manufactures 3D wind observation product (Doppler LiDAR) that visualizes wind gusts and turbulence in real time, which is essential information for drones and flying vehicles to operate, take off and land safely and securely.
We have raised a total of 360 million yen through a third-party allotment of new shares as a Series A extension round, with new investor NTT FINANCE CORPORATION (Head Office: Minato-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director: Shozo Ito, ), existing investor DRONE FUND, and MOL PLUS Co. (Minato-ku, Tokyo), DRONE FUND, an existing investor, and MOL PLUS Co., Ltd. With this, we are pleased to announce that the cumulative amount of Series A funds raised will total 1.06 billion yen, and we will continue to raise funds.
The funds raised in this round will be invested in strengthening the development system to respond to the recent expansion of use cases centered on the application of Doppler LiDAR to detect suspicious drones and other objects, and in expanding the business development system to accelerate business development in the U.S., where the drone market is expected to expand in advance.
In addition, with the capital participation from NTT FINANCE CORPORATION, we will further promote cooperation with the NTT Group and strengthen business collaboration in a wide range of fields beyond the existing business of providing wind condition data with NTT Communications Corporation.
In addition to real-time, 3D visualization and understanding of wind conditions, needs are rapidly increasing for applications to detect suspicious drones and other objects, and drones are expected to be utilized as essential infrastructure in a society based on the premise of drones.