Guardian Agriculture, the first and only eVTOL with FAA approval to operate commercially, announces $20 million in Series A funding

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Jun 20, 2023, 08:20 ET

Funding will enable Guardian to accelerate production and expand commercial operations to farms nationwide

WOBURN, Mass., June 20, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Guardian Agriculture, the leading developer of electric Vertical Take-Off and Landing (eVTOL) systems for commercial-scale sustainable farming – and the first and only eVTOL company with FAA approval to operate commercially nationwide – today announced a Series A fundraise of $20 million. Led by Fall Line Capital, this round will support expansion of commercial operations across farms nationwide and accelerate the ramp-up of large-scale manufacturing of its SC1 aircraft.

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Guardian Agriculture's SC1 aircraft is the first eVTOL authorized to operate in the U.S.

"Customers, investors, and regulators recognize that there's no better application of electric, fully-autonomous aircraft than in commercial farming," Guardian Agriculture Founder and CEO Adam Bercu said. "We have taken a practical approach to building and deploying our technology that puts us well ahead of other eVTOL developers. As the first and only eVTOL-maker with FAA approval to operate commercially, this funding will allow us to begin and quickly expand commercial operations – on real farms, with paying customers – sooner as we continue to strengthen our team and ramp up aircraft production."

The Guardian SC1 platform – which already has more than $100 million in customer orders – is the only autonomous, electric, aerial crop protection system designed specifically for large-scale agriculture. And unlike existing unmanned autonomous systems, Guardian designs and manufactures its system entirely within the U.S., supporting U.S. competitiveness, jobs, and ensuring national security. Guardian Agriculture will begin commercial operations in support of its Wilbur-Ellis customer in California this summer.

"Any farmer buying new machinery today can tell you about reliability problems as complexity has far outpaced quality control," Fall Line Capital Managing Director Clay Mitchell said. "Guardian is the first company to develop unmanned aerial application technology that's made with aviation-grade engineering and manufacturing, which greatly enhances reliability and performance. Even beyond the cost savings and elimination of soil and crop damage, the first thing farmers will notice about Guardian's product is that it works."

Founded in 2017, and with offices in Massachusetts and California, Guardian Agriculture has assembled a world-class team of engineering, autonomy, and manufacturing leaders that previously held executive-level positions at Apple, BAE, Sikorsky, Adobe, Tesla, and Uber.

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SOURCE Guardian Agriculture