Skyfly Technologies Closes USD10 Million Seed Round to Bring Axe eVTOL to Market

Skyfly Technologies, a UK developer of electric and hybrid-electric vertically capable aircraft, has closed a USD10 million seed round led by growth equity investor HICO Investment Group, with participation from Archangel, a European defence technology fund. The company said the money will take the Axe, its two-seat electric aircraft that takes off like a helicopter and flies like an aeroplane, from flying prototype to certified production aircraft.

In July 2026, the FAA's MOSAIC reforms rewrote the Light Sport Aircraft rules, admitting electric propulsion, multi-motor designs and vertical take-off aircraft into a category aimed at private owners. Skyfly says the Axe was designed for that rulebook before it existed. The funding will complete certification under the updated standards, grow the team and production capacity on both sides of the Atlantic, and accelerate the hybrid propulsion system behind the Longbow, an unmanned, longer-range variant of the Axe aimed at defence and government customers.

The company says its prototype has flown more than 100 times, completed Europe's first airfield-to-airfield eVTOL flight, and holds experimental flight permits in both the UK and the United States, where a dedicated flight test team has been flying since 2025. Skyfly states the Axe has a projected running cost of around UKP70 (USD90) per flying hour, a range of more than 100 miles, a flight time of 60 to 90 minutes, a cruising speed of 100mph and a 200kg payload, and needs no runway. Its airframe is technology-agnostic, allowing new battery and motor technology to be fitted as it becomes available, and uses advanced composite structures for weight reduction.

The Longbow is a hybrid-electric unmanned aircraft with a range of more than 400 miles and a 200kg payload, designed for cargo resupply, ISTAR, medevac and ship-to-shore logistics. Skyfly has been enrolled onto the UK Ministry of Defence's heavy lift challenge.