A $115 million extension to its Series D gives Reliable Robotics more funding as it seeks Federal Aviation Administration certification for its autonomous flight system. The Mountain View, California-based startup has spent nearly a decade working to commercialize autonomous flight technology that can be fitted to existing aircraft. Co-founder and CEO Robert Rose says the company is inching toward certification.
Nimble Partners led the extension’s $90 million equity investment, while Silicon Valley Bank provided $25 million in debt. With the additional financing, the Series D totals $275 million and Reliable is valued at more than $1 billion. Its investors also include Gideon Strategic Partners, RockCreek, Geek Ventures, Gold Hill Capital and Sparkwave Capital, along with other unnamed backers. Altogether, Reliable has raised $380 million.
“We continue to make steady progress and deliver evidence to the FAA and every day, we inch closer and closer,” Rose said. Reliable’s co-founder and CEO is a former director of flight software at SpaceX and has also held positions at Tesla and Google. Fellow co-founder and CTO Juerg Frefel spent nearly a decade working as a SpaceX engineer.
Aviation is one of the most heavily regulated industries in the world, so moving toward certification of new technology is progress. Reliable is working toward four separate FAA approvals, all linked to its goal of autonomous flight.
The first system awaiting certification is called continuous autopilot engagement. It takes care of engine startup, taxiing, takeoff and landing, with a pilot still on board using a touchscreen to interact with it. Rose expects this critical first system to be certified in 18 to 24 months.
A second approval would remove the pilot from the cockpit and move them to a ground-control station. That step is still at least three years away, Rose says.
A collision-avoidance radar is another part of Reliable’s certification effort. The company built it itself after it couldn’t persuade legacy suppliers to tackle the project. Whereas most conventional radar scans nearby airspace by moving an antenna, Reliable’s solid-state radar has no moving components.
According to Rose, the radar scans the sky at a longer range and much higher resolution than conventional systems. He also says it’s easier to maintain because it has no moving parts, and it costs less.
“This is of great interest to operators these days, given the collisions that we’ve had recently in commercial aviation,” Rose said. The radar also works on the ground, Rose added, helping prevent collisions with other aircraft or infrastructure. He expects FAA certification by the end of 2027.
The fourth approval concerns Reliable Airlines, the company’s Albuquerque-based cargo operation. It flies six Cessna Caravans, aircraft regarded as aviation industry workhorses, six days a week. Reliable plans for the airline to become the first certified to use its autonomous flying technology. The FAA certifies equipment, but it must also certify airline operations under a separate set of regulations.
Nimble Partners founder John Burbank says the benefits of the lengthy certification process will be broad and significant, because Reliable is building a system that can be adopted by any airframe.
“It’s a much bigger effort and much bigger opportunity than to just build one plane,” Burbank said. “They had a really big vision nine years ago, and saw this as something needed and essential. Once they get the first one approved, then everyone will realize this is going to be the path for the industry, just as we’re seeing the path for the auto industry being autonomous.”
