Verity, a start-up based in Zurich, has raised fresh capital totaling 7.5 million Swiss francs in the form of a convertible loan. The investors involved in this financing measure also included the venture capital firm Investiere, which invested a sum of 3.5 million Swiss francs, as detailed in a press release. In addition, the start-up was also able to convince Kitty Hawk Ventures, which is the venture capital arm of a start-up established by Larry Page, the founder of Google, which specializes in flying automobiles.
Verity was founded by Raffaelo D’Andrea in the form of a spin-off from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (ETH). D’Andrea is also the founder of the company Kiva Systems, which was sold for a price of 775 million US dollars to Amazon back in 2012.
Up to now, Verity has been known for concert appearances with stars such as Céline Dion. The drones developed by the start-up have been used to hold light shows over the stage at events such as these. Now, however, they are in the process of being tested for new application areas. In this context, they were recently trialed as part of a pilot project at an IKEA warehouse, where the drones autonomously carried out warehouse inventory checks.
The Danish logistics specialists DSV have also been testing Verity drones at a warehouse located in the Netherlands. The test was so successful that DSV is now keen to use the drones in several warehouses.
