Skydweller Aero Secures $8M Series A Funding, Partners with Palantir

The Challenge of Perpetual Flight

Current aircraft, whether airplanes or drones, are ultimately limited by the necessity to land. This fundamental constraint impacts operational capabilities and restricts continuous aerial coverage.

Skydweller Aero's Innovative Approach

Skydweller Aero, a U.S.-Spanish aerospace startup, is actively pursuing a solution to overcome this limitation. They are developing an autonomous, solar-powered aircraft designed for potentially indefinite flight.

The company’s compelling vision has already attracted significant investment. A Series A funding round of $32 million has been supplemented by an additional $8 million in oversubscribed funding.

Strategic Partnerships and Funding

This latest funding was led by Leonardo S.p.A, Marlinspike Capital, and Advection Growth Capital. Furthermore, Skydweller has forged a strategic alliance with Palantir Technologies.

This partnership will leverage Palantir’s Foundry analytics platform. The platform will be used to process large volumes of data and enhance the onboard capabilities of the aircraft.

The Power of Data Analytics

According to Skydweller co-founder John Parkes, Palantir excels at extracting value from data. This includes optimizing flight operations, analyzing sensor data, and understanding network traffic within the aircraft.

Skydweller anticipates generating substantial amounts of data, focusing on three key markets: telecommunications, geospatial intelligence, and government surveillance.

Utilizing Foundry for Mission Planning

The Foundry platform will assist customers, including government entities, in gaining deeper insights from monitored areas. It will also be instrumental in route and mission planning.

Skydweller intends to utilize weather and atmospheric data to maximize solar energy capture and ensure efficient flight. This will optimize the aircraft’s ability to remain airborne.

Creating a Persistent Aerial Layer

“We’re focused on building a perpetual flight aircraft,” Parkes stated. “The goal is to create a plane that will fly for forever, so long as the sun rises.”

Atmospheric and weather data are crucial for determining the optimal flight altitude. While high-altitude flight is possible, maintaining a lower altitude is more beneficial.

Optimizing for Performance

Lower altitudes provide superior internet quality, enhanced geospatial data, and increased power for payloads. This makes them more valuable for practical applications.

Origins in the Solar Impulse Project

Skydweller’s technology has its roots in the Swiss Solar Impulse project. This project, led by Bertrand Piccard and André Borschberg, invested $190 million over 14 years in solar-powered aircraft development.

In 2019, the foundation behind Solar Impulse sold the intellectual property to Skydweller. The original Solar Impulse was piloted, so a significant focus has been on automating the platform for ultra-long endurance.

Aircraft Specifications

The Skydweller aircraft is entirely electric, featuring 2,200-square-foot solar-panel wings. It also incorporates 600 kilograms of batteries and a hydrogen fuel cell for backup power.

The solar panels not only sustain flight but also power customer systems, such as geospatial cameras or telecommunications payloads.

Navigating Technological Challenges

The company utilizes standard commercial aviation components. However, many of these components haven’t been tested for the extended durations Skydweller envisions.

Furthermore, a comprehensive certification framework for this type of vehicle is still under development, presenting a unique regulatory hurdle.

Testing and Future Milestones

“You’re into that uncharted territory to break some of those hour paradigms,” Parkes explained.

Skydweller initiated its flight test campaign in 2020, concentrating on the installation and testing of autonomous systems. Autonomous flight testing, including take-off, flight, and landing, is planned for the near future.

The company anticipates that customers will be able to license the aircraft within the next 12 to 18 months.