Acodyne secures €2.5M to develop next-generation autonomous logistics aircraft

Copenhagen-based deep tech startup Acodyne has raised €2.5 million in pre-seed funding to scale its unmanned eVTOL cargo aircraft for heavy-lift logistics in defence, offshore, and remote operations.  The round, jointly led by Swedish defence VC Gungnir Capital and Danish PSV Hafnium, with participation from EIFO, SAP9 Group and GreenUP IV Invest, supports Acodyne’s contribution to European and NATO logistics resilience and to Danish industrial growth in defence-tech.  To find out more, I spoke with co-founders Mads Schnack, CEO, and Jasmina Pless, CCO. An autonomous eVTOL for heavy-lift logistics Acodyne is a Danish deeptech aerospace company developing autonomous eVTOL cargo aircraft for high-speed, heavy-lift logistics. Acodyne develops unmanned cargo aircraft for the most time-critical heavy-lift missions,  combining vertical take-off and landing with fixed-wing flight at jet speeds.  The company combines proprietary ducted-fan propulsion with an AI-driven autonomy stack to enable efficient delivery of critical goods in defence, offshore and remote environments. The platform is all-electric, modular and built to deliver payloads directly to forward drop-off points where helicopters are today the only fast option. Acodyne’s aircraft are designed to carry payloads of between 100 and 500 kg, depending on the model, with a cruise speed of 450 km/h and a range of up to 500 km, extending to 1,000 km in hybrid configurations. A modular design with detachable wings allows the entire system to fit inside a standard 20-foot shipping container for easy transport and deployment.  however, through discussions with defence stakeholders the company has identified strong demand for a hybrid version.  “In many operational environments, charging infrastructure simply isn’t available,” explained Pless. “The hybrid approach would still rely on electricity for vertical takeoff and landing, but would use a kerosene-powered range extender during cruise flight. That allows us to significantly increase range while maintaining the benefits of electric propulsion where it matters most.”   The cargo-first approach to making eVTOLs work The eVTOL sector has a volatile history but is seeing renewed momentum in dual-sector use cases.  Pless attributes this largely to two major technology enablers that weren’t available to the same extent a few years ago. The first is battery technology.  “Battery performance continues to improve rapidly, largely driven by the electric vehicle industry, and we benefit directly from those advances. The second is AI. AI is what makes a high degree of autonomy possible and practical. We have also deliberately chosen not to transport people. Many of the companies that came before us focused on passenger aircraft, and the certification requirements are understandably much more demanding. By focusing on cargo, we’re removing a major source of complexity while still addressing a significant market need.” Acodyne is also entering the market at a time when the broader ecosystem for unmanned aviation is beginning to mature. EU initiatives such as U-space — a digital air traffic management framework for drones, designed to enable safe, automated, and large-scale unmanned aircraft operations alongside conventional aviation — are paving the way for unmanned aircraft to operate in regulated corridors across rural and inter-city routes in the future.  In parallel, NATO and the push for  European defence-industrial autonomy are driving public and private demand for unmanned platforms.  Together with rapid advances in AI and battery technology, that opens unmanned heavy-lift logistics as a new market category, with applications well beyond defence.  Building for a fully autonomous future While regulatory frameworks and airspace infrastructure are beginning to catch up, Acodyne’s ability to operate at scale ultimately depends on another key component: autonomy. Regarding the platform, autonomy is handled by eTHOR, an AI flight stack developed in collaboration with DTU Compute.  Pless explained: “The system enables autonomous takeoff and landing, which is essential for operations beyond visual line of sight. Ultimately, we see a future where there is no human in the loop at all—not only in the aircraft itself, but also in ground handling. Our vision is for cargo drones to operate autonomously between logistics hubs, connecting directly to robotic cargo-handling systems.  We’re preparing for a future that isn’t fully here yet, but one that we believe is coming much sooner than many people expect.” Proving the transition to forward flight Pless sees the company’s biggest technical challenges as proving the transition from vertical takeoff to forward flight. “That’s the part of the aircraft that we really need to demonstrate successfully. The good news is that none of the individual technologies is new. Every component and subsystem has been proven before. What we’re doing is bringing those proven elements together in a unique configuration.” From demonstrator to operational platform  Acodyne is currently developing its first model (the E100), with initial flight tests planned before the end of 2026. The pre-seed funding supports prototype development and flight testing in real  mission environments, while laying the groundwork for scaling toward commercial operations.  According to Pless, the raise — although modest in aviation terms — is “sufficient for three prototypes, including some room for testing and, if necessary, crashing one or two along the way.” “This round gives us the runway to take Acodyne from a validated concept to a flight-tested platform,” she added. Will the infrastructure be ready? As cargo eVTOL developers move from prototypes to commercial deployment, a key question is whether the supporting aviation infrastructure will emerge at a similar pace.   The global vertiport market map and forecast 2025-2029 (published in 2025) identified 1,504 vertiports planned for development globally — however, fewer than 100 are earmarked for Europe, with none so far in the Nordics.  That said, Pless believes that as operators are obtaining licences to manage dedicated flight corridors connecting rural communities, hospitals and island populations, the ground infrastructure will follow at speed.  “Canada is one example where we’re seeing strong progress.  We’re seeing similar developments in parts of the Netherlands and Germany. As these corridors become operational, they create opportunities for companies like ours to work with local operators and demonstrate practical use cases.” But ultimately, right now Acodyne’s priority is getting the aircraft into the air. “Once we’ve demonstrated a flying prototype, we’ll begin raising a significantly larger round to support the next phase of development,” shared Pless. “We’re also actively looking for partners around the world — whether that’s defence organisations, infrastructure operators or companies developing cargo corridors.” Schnack added in conclusion: “We see ourselves as a global company from the beginning. Our goal is to help make logistics more efficient through fast autonomous cargo aircraft. The faster an aircraft can fly, the more frequently it can operate and the more goods it can move. We’re taking technologies that already exist and making them practical and valuable for real-world customers.” Why investors backed Acodyne According to Max Villman, Managing Partner, Gungnir Capital: “Acodyne is a fundamentally new take on unmanned military logistics: jet-class speed, helicopter-class payload, full ground-to-air autonomy, all-electric. It collapses one of the most expensive line items in modern operations, manned helicopter logistics, into a platform that needs no crew in the threat envelope. NATO needs resilient, scalable resupply that works.  This is exactly the kind of operationally driven defence-tech Gungnir Capital was built to back: technical teams solving real warfighter problems with hardware engineered to ship.” Marianne Hyltoft, Managing Partner, PSV Hafnium, shared: “We backed Acodyne early, and it was their engineering progress, including independent third-party validation, that convinced us to help bring Gungnir and EIFO into the round.” This funding takes Acodyne from a validated concept to a pre-production prototype and toward an aerial logistics network for defence, infrastructure and remote operations.