{"url":"https://newsforagent.com/news/2026-10-20/skyfly-technologies-10-million-seed-axe-evtol","markdown_url":"https://newsforagent.com/news/2026-10-20/skyfly-technologies-10-million-seed-axe-evtol.md","title":"Skyfly Technologies Raises $10 Million Seed for Axe eVTOL","headline":"Skyfly Technologies Closes $10 Million Seed Round Led by HICO for Axe eVTOL","description":"Skyfly Technologies closed a $10 million seed round led by HICO Investment Group to certify and scale its two-seat Axe eVTOL.","section":"Funding","published_at":"2026-10-20T13:34:23+00:00","modified_at":"2026-10-20T13:34:23+00:00","author":"News Desk","key_takeaways":["Skyfly Technologies closed a $10 million seed round led by HICO Investment Group, with Archangel participating.","The UK company targets first customer deliveries of its two-seat Axe eVTOL in 2027 and plans production scale-up in the UK and US.","Skyfly says 61 private customers are on the Axe order book, and the aircraft has completed more than 100 piloted prototype flights."],"companies":[{"name":"Skyfly Technologies Ltd","is_primary":true,"profile_url":"https://akta.pro/company-profiles/0009eeu/skyfly-technologies-ltd","website":"http://skyfly.aero"},{"name":"HICO","is_primary":false,"profile_url":"https://akta.pro/company-profiles/00086c5/hico","website":"https://hico.one"}],"source":{"publisher":"EIN Presswire","title":"Skyfly raises $10 million to move personal eVTOL Axe toward production","url":"https://www.einnews.com/article/950960497/live"},"other_sources":[],"tags":["Funding","Skyfly Technologies Ltd","HICO"],"body_markdown":"[Skyfly Technologies](https://akta.pro/company-profiles/0009eeu/skyfly-technologies-ltd) closed a $10 million seed round led by [HICO](https://akta.pro/company-profiles/00086c5/hico) Investment Group to certify and scale its two-seat Axe eVTOL, with first customer deliveries targeted for 2027. The UK company announced the funding from Thorpe Mandeville, United Kingdom, on October 20, 2026, according to [EIN Presswire](https://www.einnews.com/article/950960497/live). Archangel, a European defense technology fund, also participated in the round.\n\n## Skyfly's Axe Certification and Production Plans\n\nSkyfly says the investment moves the two-seat Axe from flying prototype to certified production aircraft. The funding will support FAA light-sport certification of the Axe under the agency's MOSAIC reforms, which took effect in July 2026 and rewrote Light Sport Aircraft rules to include electric propulsion, multi-motor designs and vertical takeoff aircraft. The company plans to grow production capacity in both the UK and the US.\n\nThe Axe is a two-seat electric aircraft that takes off like a helicopter and flies like an airplane. Skyfly says the aircraft has completed more than 100 piloted prototype flights and completed Europe's first airfield-to-airfield eVTOL flight. The company holds experimental flight permits in the UK and the US, and a dedicated flight test team has been flying in the US since 2025. The Axe drew crowds at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh in 2025 and 2026.\n\nSkyfly says 61 private customers are on the order book. The aircraft has a projected running cost of about £70, or $90, per flying hour, compared with about £300, or $400, per flying hour for comparable two-seat trainers such as the Robinson R22 and Cessna 152, according to the company. The Axe has a range of more than 100 miles, a flight time of 60 to 90 minutes, a cruising speed of 100 mph and a 200 kg payload. It hovers on eight fixed-angle electric motors and uses its wings for forward flight, avoiding tilting motors or rotating wings, and glides if power is lost.\n\nUnder the updated FAA rules, the Axe is enabled as a two-seat, Light Sport-class electric Vertically Capable Aircraft, or eVCA, a category designed for private ownership and operation with simpler pilot qualification requirements. Skyfly is also developing Longbow, a hybrid-electric unmanned aircraft designed for cargo resupply, ISTAR, medevac and ship-to-shore logistics, with a range of more than 400 miles and a 200 kg payload. Both aircraft will be built at Skyfly's 10,000-square-foot manufacturing and assembly facility in the UK.\n\n## Skyfly's Funding and Defence Records\n\nSkyfly's funding records on [akta.pro company records](https://akta.pro/company-data) list one prior round, a pre-seed in March 2022. The same records list a November 2025 selection for the UK Ministry of Defence's UASHLC Framework with the eHarrier unmanned eVTOL, tapping a £95 million programme and opening a defence revenue vertical via the Longbow/eHarrier platform. They also list an October 2025 FAA Experimental Permit for Axe SN001 (N250EV), enabling piloted US flight testing, and a July 2025 FAA confirmation of MOSAIC certification rules clearing a Light Sport Aircraft pathway.\n\n## Earlier Skyfly Announcements\n\nIn October 2026, Aviation International News reported that SkyFly expects to begin delivering its two-seat eVTOL Axe aircraft by next year's EAA AirVenture Oshkosh show, with the aircraft able to fly as an airplane in case of power failure to any rotor and a range of around 100 miles. In August 2026, Aerospace Testing International reported that Skyfly Technologies is making its electric propulsion system for light sport aircraft available to other manufacturers, alongside unveiling a hybrid system for unmanned aircraft. In July 2026, AeroTime reported that Skyfly announced on July 22, 2026, at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh that it will offer its electric propulsion system, originally developed for the Axe eVTOL aircraft, to other aircraft manufacturers as part of a business expansion strategy.\n\n## Skyfly's Next Steps\n\nSkyfly will complete certification work for the Axe under the FAA's updated standards, expand production capability in the UK and US, and continue development and demonstration of the hybrid propulsion system behind Longbow. Further defense announcements are expected.\n","publisher":{"name":"News for Agent","url":"https://newsforagent.com"}}