Altitude Angel Spreading Its Wings After Multi-million-pound Funding Boost

A drone safety start-up is planning international expansion after securing significant investment with the help of UNW.

Altitude Angel, which was founded in December 2014 by CEO Richard Parker, received a £3.4m Series A funding round led by Seraphim Space Fund, with backing from Accelerated Digital Ventures (ADV) and Frequentis AG, an Austrian-based air traffic control equipment manufacturer to Air Navigation Service Providers (ANSPs) around the world.

The company provides airspace management data and services for drone manufacturers, working in partnership with UK’s NATS to make pilots aware of any potential dangers. Their purpose-built GuardianUTM platform is already offered in over 80 territories, with the venture funding planned to introduce it into other areas.

The cash injection is also intended to increase Altitude Angel’s commercial presence and enable them to open new offices in Europe and North America.

Altitude Angel Founder and CEO Richard Parker said: “Drones have the power to revolutionise business. We are at the start of an aerial revolution that is driven by low-cost drone hardware, and Altitude Angel’s technologies are key to unlocking their potential to be flown autonomously, without a human pilot, ensuring they are safe and fit in with aviation traffic and stakeholder’s.”

Newcastle-based chartered accountancy and business advisory firm UNW worked with Altitude Angel throughout the successful funding application process, with additional support from Paul Wigham at local law firm Watson Burton.

Richard continued: “In UNW, we found a real, trusted advisor. Their expertise in both domain and industry really helped us navigate a somewhat daunting and complex process to ultimate success. We felt John Healey and his team became an extended part of our team and would not hesitate in recommending them to assist with a fund-raise.”

John Healey, Corporate Finance Partner at UNW, said: “Altitude Angel has the potential to be world leading and we are really pleased to have helped the company secure its Series A venture capital fund raise. It is great that we have the expertise in the North East to help high growth businesses find the right funding.

“There is a real opportunity in the current climate for those operating in the UTM space, and we’re really excited to see what the future holds for Richard and the team at Altitude Angel.”