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Reliable Robotics Raises $115 Million as FAA Certification Advances
Reliable Robotics raised $115 million, lifting its Series D to $275 million and its valuation above $1 billion. The company plans to expand its aircraft fleet, production facilities and engineering team as it pursues FAA certification for a
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$115 million extends Reliable’s Series D
Reliable Robotics raised $115 million on October 20, bringing its Series D financing to $275 million and pushing its valuation above $1 billion. The Mountain View, California, company said the new capital came in response to investor demand and adds to a previously announced $160 million round.
The financing combines $90 million in equity led by returning investor Nimble Partners with a $25 million term loan from Silicon Valley Bank. New investors include Gideon Capital, RockCreek, Geek Ventures, Gold Hill Capital and Sparkwave Capital; returning investor Island Green Partners also participated. Allen & Company supported the fundraise.
Reliable says it will use the money to expand its aircraft fleet and production facilities and grow its engineering team. The company also announced new offices in Seattle and San Diego, adding to its existing locations in Mountain View and San Martin, California, and Albuquerque, New Mexico. It plans to develop a radar center of excellence in Seattle and says its workforce has grown to more than 250 people.
The first step keeps a pilot aboard
Reliable is developing automation for existing aircraft, beginning with the Cessna 208B Grand Caravan. Its first certification target, continuous autopilot engagement, would automate engine startup, taxiing, takeoff and landing while a pilot remains in the aircraft and operates the system through a touchscreen, TechCrunch reported.
The company says its Reliable Autonomy System is designed for gate-to-gate operation, including en-route flight management, using existing aviation infrastructure. The announcement describes the system as the first FAA-certifiable technology for full gate-to-gate automated aircraft operation. That is the company’s description of its technology, not confirmation that the FAA has approved it for routine commercial service.
FAA approval remains the test
Reliable is seeking FAA certification for commercial operations on the Grand Caravan. It says the agency has accepted its certification plan, means of compliance and closed issue papers for continuous autopilot engagement. The release also says the company’s selection for the FAA’s Advanced Air Mobility Integration Pilot Program allows pre-certification operations to deliver cargo to small and rural communities in New Mexico and Colorado.
Those flights do not amount to full commercial certification. Reliable is also pursuing approval for operations in which the pilot moves to a ground-control station, as well as certification for its collision-avoidance radar and for Reliable Airlines’ operations. TechCrunch reported that the airline, based in Albuquerque, flies six Cessna Caravans for cargo service six days a week.
Rose says the company is approaching regulators
“We continue to make steady progress and deliver evidence to the FAA and every day, we inch closer and closer,” Reliable co-founder and CEO Robert Rose told TechCrunch. The company’s funding announcement makes a parallel case for expansion: more aircraft, production capacity and engineering staff to support its certification work and radar program.
Rose told TechCrunch he expects certification for the first system in 18 to 24 months, while the version that removes the pilot from the cockpit is at least three years away. Those are company expectations, not FAA commitments. The immediate measure of the new capital will be whether Reliable can turn its accepted certification work into approvals for aircraft and operations.