Dronamics, the world’s first cargo drone airline founded by the Bulgarian brothers Svilen and Konstantin Rangelov, is getting ready for the launch of its commercial operations, once it has completed its test programme.
The startup has overcome a myriad technical, financial, and regulatory challenges since the two brothers designed the first rudimentary prototypes of their aircraft in 2015.
To celebrate the fruits of its labour, Dronamics is organizing an exhibition that tells the story of the Black Swan – from the first prototypes, through its upgrades, to its current version as a remotely piloted cargo drone licensed to fly in the EU that can carry up to 350 kg at a distance of up to 2,500 km.
If you want to get a first-hand sense of the Black Swan and explore Dronamics’ history, you’re more than welcome to visit the exhibition at Campus X between April 14 and April 26 – just over 120 years after two other brothers, Orville and Wilbur Wright, made history on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean by completing the first controlled, sustained, engine-powered flight with an airplane.
As a warm-up, below briefly look at Dronamics’ journey. It began 10 years ago in the minds of two brothers who dared to believe that they could demonstrate to the world that remotely piloted cargo drones aren’t a fantasy but a realistic innovation whose time had come.
Dronamics’ journey in a nutshell
After a few years of financial and other difficulties, Dronamics managed to raise enough capital to turn their vision for the Black Swan into a reality. In 2018, the startup set up its office in Campus X – the first private end-to-end tech ecosystem in Bulgaria that brings together local and international startups, scaleups, and mature companies, and connects them to talent, capital, and fellow entrepreneurs.
When you see people who work hard on the development of revolutionary innovations in the stimulating and engaging environment offered by Campus X, it’s hard not to get inspired, says Svilen Rangelov, who, as Dronamics’ CEO, was in a position to communicate whenever he wanted with Boyko Iaramov, one of the early investors in the company and a co-founder of Campus X, Telerik, Telerik Academy and Telerik School Academy, as well as with the partners in the early-stage venture capital (VC) fund Eleven, which is based in the campus.
During its time at Campus X, Dronamics laid a solid foundation for its natural expansion. This process was facilitated by its having access to a wide array of professional services that let the team focus on its core research, engineering, fundraising, and business development activities.
When Svilen and Konstantin Rangelov realized it was time for them to continue to pursue their dream outside of Campus X, they wanted to make sure that the different teams of the company could collaborate efficiently in a more specialized environment while still benefiting from the versatile support provided by the campus and its business partners. In its current office, located between Sofia Airport’s two terminals, Dronamics continues to take advantage of many of the services it relied on while at Campus X. The reason: under this model, they save time, money, and energy, and can concentrate on the work that adds the greatest value to the business.
Dronamics has recently paved the way for the launch of its commercial operations, expected to commence in Greece later this year.
In 2023, it completed the first flight of the Black Swan at Balchik airport in Bulgaria, obtained IATA and ICAO designator codes, which grant it recognition on par with other international airlines, and signed agreements with partners based in Greece, Malta, the UAE, and Qatar.
Just a month ago, Dronamics announced a funding agreement with the European Innovation Council (EIC). The EIC will support the cargo drone airline with an equity investment of EUR 10 million. This investment follows a grant of EUR 2.5 million that the EIC provided to Dronamics under its Accelerator programme in 2022, and a total of pre-Series A funding of close to EUR 40 million raised from VC funds and business angels from 12 countries.
The Black Swan is coming back home
If you want to learn more about Dronamics and dive into the engineering nuts and bolts of the Black Swan, mark your calendars today and join us for the company’s exhibition at Campus X from April 14 to April 26.
The exhibition is a gift from Dronamics to all aspiring entrepreneurs, innovators, engineers, researchers, investors, school and university students, journalists, and technology lovers.
Visitors will have the rare opportunity to see the only full-scale model of the Black Swan, which has already been shown to the public in the USA and the UAE, and several smaller models of the drone that showcase its evolution.
Of course, given that the exhibition is set up at Campus X, you’ll also have the chance to get a feel of our private offices and shared offices, the facilities and services we offer to our members, and the spirit of learning and collaboration that reigns onsite.
