Pyka raised $40 million in its Series B fundraising efforts to support the production of its all-electric Pelican autonomous crop sprayer and a cargo-carrying variant, the California-based company announced on September 23.
“We are designing, developing, and commercializing autonomous electric aircraft at a pace that few companies have been able to achieve,” said Pyka co-founder and CEO Michael Norcia. “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.”
The fresh funding will allow Pyka to grow its domestic manufacturing capabilities and boost production rates, the company said. Some of the funding will also go toward the development of new contested logistics capabilities to attract defense customers. In February, Pyka delivered the first of three Pelican Cargo aircraft it is leasing to the U.S. Air Force’s Afwerx Agility Prime program under a contract aimed at exploring possible defense applications.
Pyka has also partnered with Sierra Nevada Corp. to introduce a variant of the Pelican Cargo aircraft for customers within the U.S. Department of Defense, the company announced in May. Called Rumrunner, the uncrewed aircraft system (UAS) features high-thrust, super-short takeoff and landing capabilities. Like the original Pelican Cargo model, it will be capable of carrying 400 pounds of payload up to 200 miles.
Pyka’s flagship product, the Pelican Spray, is an all-electric, fixed-wing UAS with a gross weight of 1,320 pounds. It can carry 540 pounds of fluid and spray up to 240 acres per hour. According to Pyka, it is the world’s largest and most productive agricultural spraying drone and the largest autonomous electric UAS ever to receive FAA authorization for commercial operation in the U.S.
The FAA authorized the Pelican Spray aircraft to operate under Part 107 rules in August 2023, and last month Pyka announced its first U.S. customer: Kansas-based Heinen Brothers Agra Services. Pelican Spray aircraft are also already operating in Costa Rica, Honduras, and Brazil.
Pyka’s Series B funding round was led by Obvious Ventures, with participation from Piva Capital, Prelude Ventures, Metaplanet Holdings, and Y Combinator. The company closed a $37 million Series A funding round in April 2022.