Dronamics, recognized as the world’s first cargo drone airline (since it was officially designated IATA and ICAO codes in 2023), has been selected for an equity investment of up to EUR 30 million through the European Innovation Council’s (EIC) Strategic Technologies for Europe Platform (STEP). It is currently the only company in Europe designing, manufacturing, and operating long-range, high-payload cargo drones and has often been featured in CargoForwarder Global since its launch in 2014. Over the past few years, it has signed partnership agreements with e.g. Qatar Cargo and Sovereign Speed, to speed up deliveries for time-critical shipments. The first successful commercial test flights took place in 2023. Things have been a little quiet since then. Nevertheless, the EIC’s evaluation, conducted by an independent panel of experts, highlighted Dronamics’ technology as having strong potential for both societal and economic impact, supporting the EU’s goals for growth and regional development. Managed by the European Commission, EIC’s STEP initiative offers investments of between EUR 10 million to EUR 30 million with the aim of attracting additional private capital and support funding rounds of EUR 50 to EUR 150 million and more, and thus help push transformative European innovations. Dronamics has been put forward to receive up to the maximum funding amount of EUR 30 million, pending final due diligence by the EIC Fund.
Svilen Rangelov, Co-Founder and CEO of Dronamics, said: “As the only European company to repeatedly build, test and fly large cargo drones made entirely in Europe, we have proven we can reduce strategic dependencies and strengthen the EU’s tech sovereignty. With this decision doubling down on its previous investment in 2024, the EIC is clearly demonstrating Europe’s commitment to taking a proactive role in securing its technological future. It has never been a better time to build a large cargo drone in Europe.”
