Dutch drone startup Skytools secures funding from global manufacturer Terra Drone, will form hub in Rotterdam

Dutch drone startup Skytools secures funding from global manufacturer Terra Drone, will form hub in Rotterdam

Skytools, a Dutch startup that provides ‘advanced drone solutions’ to corporations and governments, has secured an investment from Terra Drone, a global drone hardware and software manufacturer based in Tokyo. Together the two companies will create Europe’s largest drone hub in Rotterdam.

Skytools offers a wide range of drone equipment, as well as the registration, training and maintenance required to operate it. Corporate clients come from industries such as oil and gas, chemicals, engineering and utilities. “Working close together with the Terra drone group next to the Port of Rotterdam will give our clients a strong partner for aerial services at their facilities. For Skytools this collaboration means that we can look further than the Dutch borders and expand a high level of service on a European and global scale,” says CEO Marko Van Es. In addition to international growth, collaboration with the Japanese investor will bring on new solutions and equipment. The Dutch startup will develop services in inspection and surveillance, thanks to Terra Drone Europe and Terra Inspectioneering, which also have offices in the Netherlands. Skytools will also start incorporating military-grade fixed wings from C-Astral, a Terra Drone group company in Slovenia.

Terra Drone has invested in other European drone startups, particularly in the Belgian startup Unifly, participating in a €14.6 million round two years ago and leading a €5 million round before that. The amount of this latest investment in Skytools was not disclosed.

Photo: Drone flying in Rotterdam, courtesy of Skytools

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