Electric Aviation Leader Pyka Announces $40M Series B

Gunderson Dettmer represented client Pyka, an electric aviation technology leader, in its $40 million Series B financing led by Obvious Ventures. Pyka is defining the future of safe, environmentally-friendly and cost-effective aviation with autonomous electric airplanes for crop protection and cargo delivery. The company’s proprietary technology includes autonomous flight control software, flight computers, high energy density batteries, advanced electric propulsion systems and carbon composite airframes. Pyka will use the new capital to accelerate its growth across its dual-use product line and advance the development of new capabilities to support contested logistics operations for the U.S. Department of Defense and allied partners.

In the announcement of the transaction, Pyka Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer Michael Norcia said, "This accomplishment is a significant milestone for Pyka. We are designing, developing, and commercializing autonomous electric aircraft at a pace that few companies have been able to achieve. With commercial production well underway, and our aircraft deployed with customers on multiple continents, we are extremely proud of the progress we've made as a company thus far. This round of funding brings us one step closer to unlocking autonomous electric flight for society."

The Gunderson Dettmer deal team was led by Nick Harley and included Tom Villeneuve, Oh Sung Kwon, Jake Winton and Shagun Parekh.

Companies
Pyka
Obvious Ventures