Reliable Robotics, a Mountain View, California-based startup founded by former SpaceX engineers, has raised $115 million in an extension of its Series D round, pushing its valuation past $1 billion. The financing consists of $90 million in equity led by Nimble Partners and $25 million in debt from Silicon Valley Bank. The Series D round now totals $275 million, and the company has raised $380 million to date. Other investors include Gideon Strategic Partners, RockCreek, Geek Ventures, Gold Hill Capital and Sparkwave Capital.
The funding gives Reliable Robotics more room to pursue certification from the Federal Aviation Administration for its autonomous flight system, which is designed to be installed on existing aircraft. Co-founder and CEO Robert Rose, a former director of flight software at SpaceX who has also worked at Tesla and Google, said the company is making steady progress and supplying evidence to the FAA as it moves toward that milestone. Co-founder and CTO Juerg Frefel is also a SpaceX veteran, having spent nearly a decade there as an engineer.
Reliable Robotics is seeking FAA certification on four fronts tied to autonomous flight. Its first product, continuous autopilot engagement, manages engine startup, taxiing, takeoff and landing while the pilot remains aboard and interacts with the system through a touchscreen. Rose expects certification of that system in 18 to 24 months. A second certification, which would move the pilot out of the cockpit to a ground-control station, is at least three years away, according to Rose.
The company is also pursuing certification of a collision-avoidance radar it developed in-house after failing to interest legacy suppliers in the project. Reliable's solid-state radar has no moving parts, unlike conventional systems that rely on a moving antenna, and according to Rose it scans at longer range and higher resolution, is easier to maintain and costs less. Rose said the radar is drawing interest from operators given recent collisions in commercial aviation, and that it also works on the ground to prevent collisions with other aircraft or infrastructure. He expects certification by the end of 2027.
The final certification covers Reliable Airlines, which the company says will be the first airline certified to use the autonomous flying technology. Based in Albuquerque, the airline uses six Cessna Caravans to fly cargo six days a week. The FAA certifies equipment but must also certify airline operations under a separate set of regulations.
Nimble Partners founder John Burbank said the payoff from certification will be broad, describing the effort as a much larger undertaking and opportunity than building a single plane because Reliable is building a system any airframe can adopt. Burbank said the company had a big vision nine years ago and saw the technology as essential, and he predicted that once the first system is approved, the industry will recognize it as the path forward, much as autonomous technology has become the path for the auto industry.
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