Reliable Robotics has been dedicated to commercializing autonomous flight technology that can be installed on existing aircraft for nearly a decade. Now, this startup based in Mountain View, California, has secured $115 million in financing, giving it more financial resources to continue advancing its autonomous flight system towards certification by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) – a key milestone. Co-founder and CEO Robert Rose stated that the company is gradually approaching this goal.
This financing is an extension of its Series D round, which includes a $90 million equity financing led by Nimble Partners, as well as a $25 million debt financing from the token issuance of Sil and Valley Bank. With the total amount of this financing round reaching $275 million, the valuation of Reliable has exceeded $1 billion. Other investors include Gideon Strategic Partners, RockCreek, Geek Ventures, Gold Hill Capital, Sparkwave Capital, and others. To date, Reliable has raised a total of $380 million in financing.
Rose said, "We are making steady progress and providing evidence to FAA. Every day, we get a little closer to our goal." Rose used to be the Director of Flight Software at SpaceX and has also held positions at Tesla and Google. Reliable, the co-founder and Chief Technology Officer of Juerg Frefel, is also a veteran with nearly a decade of experience as an engineer there.
In the aviation industry – one of the most strictly regulated industries globally – facilitating the certification of new technologies is in itself a step forward.
Reliable Robotics is striving for certifications in four areas from FAA, and these certifications are all related to its goal of achieving autonomous flight.
Its first products, named continuous, autopilot, and engagement, are capable of handling engine startup, taxiing, takeoff, and landing for pilots; the pilots remain on board and interact with the automatic flight system through a touchscreen. Rose It is expected that this critical first system will be certified within 18 to 24 months.
The second phase of certification will take at least another three years, by which time pilots will leave the cockpit and transfer to ground control stations.
Reliable is still working on the certification of the collision avoidance radar. Since traditional suppliers were not interested in taking on this project, the company decided to develop it in-house. Rose states that traditional radar systems typically use movable antennas to scan the surrounding airspace, whereas Reliable develops a solid-state radar without any moving parts, which has a longer scanning range and higher resolution. He added that this type of radar is also easier to maintain, as there are no moving parts, and it is also cheaper.
He said, "Considering the recent collision accidents in commercial aviation, this is very attractive for operators." He also mentioned that this radar can be used on the ground to prevent collisions with other aircraft or infrastructure. Rose It is expected that this solid-state radar will be certified by the end of 2027.
The final certification is for its airline Reliable Airlines, which will be the first to be authorized to use this autonomous flight technology. The airline is headquartered in Albuquerque and operates 6 Cessna Caravan aircraft, transporting goods 6 days a week. (FAA is responsible for equipment certification, but this institution must also certify the airline's operations according to another set of regulations.)
Despite the lengthy certification process, Nimble Partners founder John Burbank stated that the benefits it will bring will be extensive and significant.
"This is a project larger than just building an airplane, and it also represents greater opportunities," said Burbank, pointing out that Reliable is working on a system that can be adopted by any aircraft model. "They had a very ambitious vision nine years ago and believed it to be necessary and indispensable. Once they get the first approval, everyone will realize that this will become the path for the entire industry, just as we have seen with the path of autonomous driving in the automotive industry."
