Reliable Robotics Raises $115M as Autonomous Flight Startup Tops $1B Valuation

Reliable Robotics extended its Series D round with $115 million in new financing, including $90 million in equity led by Nimble Partners and $25 million in debt from Silicon Valley Bank. The Series D now totals $275 million and pushed the company’s valuation beyond $1 billion. TechCrunch reports that Reliable has raised $380 million to date, with other investors including Gideon Strategic Partners, RockCreek, Geek Ventures, Gold Hill Capital and Sparkwave Capital.

The Mountain View, California-based startup is developing autonomous flying technology designed to be installed on existing aircraft. Its first product, continuous autopilot engagement, handles engine startup, taxiing, takeoff and landing while the pilot remains in the aircraft and interacts with the system through a touchscreen. Co-founder and CEO Robert Rose said the company is making steady progress toward FAA certification, with certification for the first system expected in 18 to 24 months.

Reliable Robotics is pursuing FAA certification on four fronts tied to autonomous flight. A second certification would remove the pilot from the cockpit and move operations to a ground-control station, a milestone Rose said is at least three years away. The company is also working to certify a solid-state collision-avoidance radar, which Rose said has no moving parts and scans at longer range and higher resolution; he expects that radar to be certified by the end of 2027.

The final certification effort involves Reliable Airlines, which TechCrunch reports would be the first airline certified to use the autonomous flying technology. The airline is based in Albuquerque and uses six Cessna Caravans to fly cargo six days a week. The FAA certifies equipment, but airline operations require separate certification, making this part of the plan central to moving the technology from system approval toward real-world use.

The funding gives Reliable Robotics a longer runway as it works through a lengthy certification process in one of the world’s most regulated industries. Nimble Partners founder John Burbank framed the opportunity as broader than building one aircraft, pointing to a system that could be adopted by any airframe. For readers tracking autonomy, the key signal is that aviation startups are pairing large capital raises with incremental regulatory milestones rather than splashy deployment claims.