Reliable Robotics Raises $115M, Crosses $1B Valuation

Reliable Robotics has raised $115 million, pushing the autonomous flight startup's valuation past the $1 billion mark. The financing extends its Series D round to $275 million and brings total funding to $380 million since the company's founding nearly a decade ago.

The Mountain View, California-based company secured $90 million in equity funding led by Nimble Partners and $25 million in debt from Silicon Valley Bank. Additional investors include Gideon Strategic Partners, RockCreek, Geek Ventures, Gold Hill Capital and Sparkwave Capital.

The fresh capital buys Reliable Robotics runway as it chases certification from the Federal Aviation Administration — the make-or-break milestone for its autonomous flight systems. Co-founder and CEO Robert Rose, a former director of flight software at SpaceX with stints at Tesla and Google, said the company is closing in.

"We continue to make steady progress and deliver evidence to the FAA and every day, we inch closer and closer," Rose said.

Co-founder and CTO Juerg Frefel is also a SpaceX veteran, with nearly a decade there as an engineer. In aviation — one of the world's most regulated industries — even incremental movement toward certification counts as progress.

What is Reliable Robotics actually certifying?

The company is pursuing FAA approval on four linked fronts, all serving its autonomous flight goal.

• Continuous autopilot engagement. The first product handles engine startup, taxiing, takeoff and landing. A pilot stays in the aircraft and interacts with the system through a touchscreen. Rose expects certification for this system in 18 to 24 months.
• Ground-based piloting. The second certification, at least three years away by Rose's estimate, removes the pilot from the cockpit and moves them to a ground-control station.
• Solid-state collision-avoidance radar. Reliable developed the radar in-house after legacy suppliers declined the project.
• Reliable Airlines. The Albuquerque-based airline operates six Cessna Caravans flying cargo six days a week. The FAA must certify the airline's operations under a separate set of regulations from the equipment itself.

Why does the radar matter?

The radar piece carries particular weight given recent events in commercial aviation. Most conventional systems rely on an antenna that physically moves to scan surrounding airspace. Reliable's solid-state radar has no moving parts and scans the sky at longer range and much higher resolution, according to Rose. It also costs less and is easier to maintain, he said.

"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, where it can prevent collisions with other aircraft or infrastructure. Rose expects certification by the end of 2027.

What do investors see in the deal?

Nimble Partners founder John Burbank, whose firm led the equity portion, framed the bet as bigger than any single aircraft. Reliable is building a system that can be adopted by any airframe, he noted.

"It's a much bigger effort and much bigger opportunity than to just build one plane," Burbank said.

He pointed to the company's longevity and the scale of its ambition: "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."

What comes next?

The near-term test is the 18-to-24-month clock on certifying continuous autopilot engagement. That first approval, in Burbank's view, would set the template for the entire aviation industry's shift toward autonomy — the same trajectory autonomous driving followed in the auto sector. Until then, Reliable Robotics will keep delivering evidence to the FAA, one inch at a time.