SkyDrive Inc has raised JPY 8.3 billion in pre-series D funding through a third-party allotment. The funding will be used to strengthen the company’s eVTOL development team, enhance testing infrastructure, improve operational readiness and accelerate activities related to certification and development.
The funding round was led by MUFG Bank, Ltd with investments from Suzuki Motor Corporation, East Japan Railway Company, Kyushu Railway Company and seven other companies. With this latest round, SkyDrive’s cumulative funding now exceeds JPY 43 billion.
SkyDrive has been actively working to obtain type certification, a critical step toward the commercialisation of its eVTOL aircraft. In February 2025, Japan’s Civil Aviation Bureau (JCAB) issued a G-1 certification basis for the SD-05, SkyDrive’s three-seater eVTOL.
“Currently, SkyDrive is advancing its certification plans and coordinating with JCAB on the specifics of upcoming tests and their timelines,” the company said in a July 4 press release. “Following an agreement on the certification plan, SkyDrive will conduct extensive ground and flight tests in line with the agreed plans.”
SkyDrive now maintains capital and business alliances with a total of four railway companies, with East Japan and Kyushi railway companies joining SkyDrive’s alliance partners Osaka Metro and Kinetsu Group Holdings. Integrating SkyDrive’s eVTOL capabilities into existing networks operated by these partner companies aim to create mobility solutions that effectively combine overland and air travel. “These collaborations will also focus on the establishment of air routes and the development of vertiports, as well as public relations efforts designed to boost public support for widespread eVTOL use of eVTOL,” the company said.
SkyDrive’s CEO Tomohiro Fukuzawa also noted on July 4 that the company has received over 380 pre-orders across seven countries.
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