Skyryse Inc., the developer of a flight control system with artificial intelligence features, today announced that it has closed a funding round worth more than $300 million.
The Series C deal was led by Autopilot Ventures and returning backer Fidelity Management. They were joined by more than a half-dozen other institutional backers. Skyryse is now valued at $1.15 billion.
The company’s flight control system, SkyOS, is designed to ease the task of piloting planes and helicopters. It also promises to improve safety in the process. Skyryse is seeking regulatory approval from the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration and hopes to start selling its first SkyOS-powered aircraft, the Skyryse One, later this year.
SkyOS is powered by a custom flight computer that runs 1.3 million lines of code. The module adheres to the 10-9 aviation safety standard, which means it’s only likely to experience a major malfunction once per 1 billion flight hours. SkyRyse achieved that level of reliability partly by equipping the computer with a so-called triple-redundant architecture. A triple-redundant system includes components that have not one but two backups.
The system combines its flight computers with an aviation-optimized joystick. Skyryse says that it can replace both flight yokes and cyclics, the primary flight control devices in planes and helicopters, respectively. Furthermore, the joystick removes the need for certain secondary controls such as a helicopter’s collective, a lever that the pilot uses to increase or decrease lift.
SkyOS also includes other components. It ships with linear electro-mechanical actuators, which are used to control a wing’s movable components, and a device called a motor control assembly. The latter module serves as an interface between a flight control system and the mechanical parts that it orchestrates.
Skyryse designed SkyOS to be compatible with a wide range of third-party aircraft. The company’s internally developed aircraft, the Skyryse One, is a modified version of a five-seat helicopter called the Robinson R66. It has replaced more than 180 default components with its own hardware.
The company says SkyOS enables pilots to lift off with a single touchscreen swipe. Once the helicopter is in the air, a terrain monitoring system analyzes data from onboard sensors to identify potential hazards. It’s complemented by a second safety feature called dynamic envelope protection. The technology helps the helicopter avoid overly demanding operating conditions that may lead to component failures.
Skyryse will use its newly raised funding to accelerate its FAA certification and bring SkyOS to more aircraft.
