Skyports secures major equity investment from ACS Group
Leading vertiport infrastructure developer and electric drone operations provider, Skyports, recently announced a significant new equity investment from a Spanish multinational company, ACS Group.
The company has raised over $114 million, positioning the Spanish company as its largest investor.
The investment was made through IRIDIUM, the wholly owned infrastructure development and concessions subsidiary of ACS Group, which generated $39 billion in revenue in 2023.
The new capital injection will accelerate the development of both of Skyports’ business divisions.
Skyports Infrastructure, which last year entered into a three-way agreement with Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) and Joby Aviation, will use the funds to build the vertiports in Dubai ahead of the planned 2026 launch of air taxi services. Additionally, the funding will support expansion in other global markets.
Meanwhile, Skyports Drone Services will scale up its portfolio, which includes offshore energy asset deliveries, medical transport, inspections of linear infrastructure, and water quality monitoring.
Duncan Walker, CEO and Co-founder of Skyports, said the investment places the company in a strong position to grow its global footprint in advanced air mobility.
“With ACS backing, we are in the best possible position to advance commercial air taxi and electric drone services around the world,” he said.
“Investment from a world-class transport infrastructure leader serves as an endorsement of Skyports’ initiatives and underscores the immense potential of the market. Having ACS INFRA as a substantial shareholder in the company, together with their significant cash investment, puts Skyports in a market-leading position, which will allow us to continue growing and enabling new aviation services.”
Strengthening Synergies
Furthermore, the partnership will explore the integration of drone delivery and inspection services into ACS Group’s extensive portfolio, which spans infrastructure, construction, and mining. ACS INFRA’s notable projects include the Automated People Mover at Los Angeles International Airport and the Lima metropolitan railway extension in Peru.
Nuria Haltiwanger, CEO of IRIDIUM, noted, “We are proud of our new partnership with Skyports, the leader in vertiport development, and the role we will be able to now play in the new and growing Advanced Air Mobility market. We are eager to bring our knowledge of large-scale infrastructure development and construction to help grow Skyports and the overall AAM market.”
We are looking at how Skyports Drone Services’ expertise will help us to bring further efficiencies to our existing asset management, construction, and mining businesses in the Group. This investment in Skyports is a critical step in our strategy of further expansion in new generation infrastructure, particularly in sustainable mobility.”
In addition to ACS’s investment, the company’s existing shareholder, Groupe ADP, has also committed further capital to Skyports’ Series C funding round. The Paris-based airport operator first invested in Skyports during its Series A round in 2019.
Since then, both companies have collaborated on various infrastructure projects, including the launch of Europe’s first vertiport testbed in Paris, inaugurated in November 2022.
Moreover, Skyports has previously attracted investments from other major players in aviation and infrastructure, including Irelandia Aviation, Kanematsu, and Deutsche Bahn Digital Ventures.
Its infrastructure division works with partners such as Archer, Beta, Joby Aviation, Vertical Aerospace, and Volocopter. Meanwhile, Skyports Drone Services has delivered projects for the UK National Health Service, Equinor, UPS, Royal Mail, Wilhelmsen, and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.