Itochu Invests in Wingcopter

Akihabara News (Tokyo) — Japanese major trading firm Itochu Corporation has made an investment in the German drone delivery pioneer Wingcopter.

Although the specifics of the “capital and business alliance” between the two firms were not released, the main thrust appears to be the establishment of drone delivery services in Japan utilizing the Wingcopter 198 triple-drop delivery drone, for which Itochu will become the dedicated domestic distributor.

“We expect Japan to become one of the most important regions for drone delivery applications in the upcoming years. Therefore, we are convinced that Itochu, with the network and expertise in a huge variety of business sectors as well as the financial power of a Fortune Global 500 company, will help us serve more Japanese customers and allow us to jointly scale Wingcopter’s operations across Japan,” commented Tom Plümmer, co-founder and CEO of Wingcopter.

The tie-up between the two firms first emerged last December with the signing of an initial sales partner agreement.

However, this is not the first time that Wingcopter has flagged its interest in the Japanese market. Last March, the German drone maker collaborated with All Nippon Airways (ANA) to test strategies for connecting small island communities through drone deliveries of medical supplies. Also, last December it was announced that Japan’s Drone Fund III had made an investment in Wingcopter, helping to focus attention on other opportunities in Japan.