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Drone delivery startup Swoop Aero stalls, lands in administration
- Drone delivery startup, Swoop Aero, has been placed in administration as co-founder Eric Peck claimed pressure from investors placed the business in that position.
- The business continues to trade under the administrator’s control as it looks for a new investor or buyer.
- Peck claimed to the AFR that the Melbourne business had been under pressure from a key investor while being unable to secure a modest sum, described as “just a few hundred thousand dollars” to complete production of its Kite drones.
- The Series B was led by CSIRO-backed VC fund Main Sequence, with support from Melbourne impact fund Giant Leap and US investor In-Q-Tel, the defence tech investment arm of the CIA.
- Peck declined to name the investor responsible, but said they were “stuck in a loop where we needed to ramp up manufacturing to ramp up revenue, but we needed capital”.
- Founded in 2017 with a focus on delivering urgent supplies, especially medicines, to remote areas, Swoop also partnered with governments and healthcare organisations across the Pacific and Europe.
- The Kite drone was developed Swoop’s Australian-based engineers to travel at up to 200km/h across a range of more than 180km on a single battery charge, with a 5kg payload.
- Mike Nicholls of Main Sequence said his team will work with the administrator to ensure the best outcome for stakeholders.
- Giant Leap managing partner Will Richardson said it was “incredibly regrettable” that Swoop was placed in voluntary administration.
- Administrator Simon Nelson will hold the first creditors meeting in Melbourne on Thursday, October 24.
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