United Aircraft Group, which is involved in the R&D and production of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), has secured 1.2 billion yuan ($167.1 million) in an extended Series D round, led by Longjiang Fund, a state-owned investment vehicle set up by the government of northernmost Heilongjiang province.
A slew of state-affiliated investors including a subsidiary of China Longjiang Forest Industry Group; Harbin Venture Capital Group; and local investors Harbin Keli Venture Capital Management have joined the round, according to an announcement on June 16.
Alongside the investment, the firm will set up a new base in Harbin, a city in the Heilongjiang province. The new base will be used for constructing and demonstrating the UAV. Besides that, the firm is also equipped with offices across Beijing and Shenzhen, as well as in the provinces of Anhui, Shanxi, and Gansu.
The extended financing round comes only three months after the firm sealed a 2-billion-yuan ($290.8 million) Series D round in March led by Chengdu Heavy Industry Longjin, a 40-billion-yuan ($5.8 billion) state-affiliated Fund of Funds (FoF) that invests in businesses in the advanced manufacturing industry in the city of Chengdu.
Founded in 2017, the firm offers a slew of UAV products, as well as ground and airborne equipment, rotor blades, and composite products. Its products and solutions are applicable across logistics and transportation, powerline inspection and construction, as well as in the oil and gas industry, among others.
Meanwhile, the firm is also working to bring its next-generation tilt-rotor, a type of vertical takeoff and landing aircraft that can be used in long-distance logistics and transportation to complete trial flights in 2025.