eVTOL Pioneer Skyfly Lands $10 Million to Bring Personal Vertical Flight to Market

Skyfly, a company that designs, builds, and sells electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft (eVTOL), led by Michael Thompson and the team, has closed a $10 million seed round led by specialist growth equity investor HICO Investment Group, with participation from Archangel, Europe’s only dedicated next-generation defence technology fund. 

The investment will help Skyfly transition its two-seat Axe electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft from prototype to certified production, while expanding its team and manufacturing capacity in the UK and US. Funding will also support development of the hybrid propulsion system for Longbow, its longer-range unmanned variant for defence and government customers.

Skyfly’s progress includes more than 100 prototype flights, Europe’s first airfield-to-airfield eVTOL flight, and experimental flight permits in the UK and US. With 61 private customers on its order book, first deliveries are planned for 2027. The funding will also accelerate certification under the FAA’s updated Light Sport Aircraft standards.

Michael Thompson, CEO of Skyfly, said: “This investment gives us the resources to take the Axe from a flying prototype to a certified aircraft in customers’ hands. The FAA’s MOSAIC rules have opened a route to market that simply did not exist for electric aircraft before, and the Axe was designed for exactly this category. HICO and Archangel understood that timing, and their backing lets us move at the pace the opportunity demands: completing certification and standing up series production. It also accelerates development and demonstration of the hybrid propulsion technology underpinning our defence products, at a moment when uncrewed aircraft have become central to how nations think about security. We believe the Axe’s range and useful load offer a genuinely unique capability, with a level of simplicity the market has not yet seen.”

Skyfly aims to modernize a light aircraft market dominated by designs dating back to the 1970s. Its two-seat Axe eVTOL aircraft is designed to offer quieter, easier flying at a projected operating cost of around £70 per hour, compared with approximately £300 for conventional alternatives. It offers a range exceeding 100 miles, a cruising speed of 100 mph, and runway-independent operation.

The Axe uses eight fixed-angle electric motors for vertical take-off and landing, with wings providing lift during forward flight. Its design avoids complex tilting mechanisms and allows the aircraft to glide in the event of power loss. The architecture is intended to improve efficiency while simplifying ownership and operation under the FAA’s updated Light Sport Aircraft framework.

Skyfly is also developing Longbow, a hybrid-electric unmanned aircraft with a range exceeding 400 miles and a 200kg payload for defence, cargo resupply, surveillance, medical evacuation, and maritime logistics. Both aircraft are planned for production at the company’s 10,000 sq ft UK manufacturing facility.

Nicholas Nelson, General Partner at Archangel Ventures, said: “Longbow addresses a clear requirement for unmanned systems that can move meaningful payloads over significant distances without relying on a runway. Archangel invests exclusively in defence-first companies, and our backing of Skyfly reflects the potential we see in its technology to deliver mission necessary capability for the modern battlespace.”

Chris Hartnoll, managing director at HICO Investment Group, said: “Electrification is revolutionising every industry that moves things, and aviation is next. A simpler electric drivetrain, with fewer moving parts and requiring a fraction of the maintenance, makes aircraft like the Axe practical for private owners for the first time and will enable the Longbow to transform logistics across domains. What Skyfly’s team has achieved with so little is remarkable: a new aircraft, designed and built from scratch, flying and now leading the way through a brand-new certification pathway. We’re excited to back a team with a big vision and relentless drive to execute.”