Autonomous Transport Specialist Aurrigo International Secures Funding for Expansion

A leading autonomous transport specialist has raised £14.1m to accelerate growth, identify larger manufacturing facilities and increase its technical and manufacturing teams.

Aurrigo International plc, which currently works with seven airports across the world, has secured £9.75m from Next Gen Mobility with further funds from existing and new investors as part of a new share placing.

The company will use the new finance to build multiple show demonstrator vehicles, explore relocation to a bigger engineering and manufacturing centre in Coventry, and scale production to meet the requirements of the seven airports it currently works with.

There will also be an emphasis on increasing its 110-strong workforce to help it meet the anticipated increase in volumes and potential new deployments currently being discussed.

“We are delighted to welcome Next Gen as a strategic investor and are grateful for the support of both our existing and new investors,” explained Professor David Keene MBE, CEO of Aurrigo International plc.

“The significant funds raised will provide additional firepower to expand our operations and team, as we focus on the successful launch and go-to-market of our leading autonomous solutions for aviation, including Auto-DollyTug® (for baggage operations), Auto-Shuttle® (for moving passengers) and Auto-Cargo®, our biggest model yet and ideal for cargo operations.”

It has been an extremely busy period for Aurrigo International plc, with a major partnership with Swissport recently announced.

This will see the company conduct its first-ever global pilot of autonomous ground handling technologies at Zurich Airport, marking an important step in Swissport’s determination to be a pioneer in next-generation intelligent Ground Service Equipment (iGSE).

The initiative includes the deployment of Auto-Sim®, the companies digital simulation platform, and a live trial of Auto-DollyTug® to explore new efficiencies in airside operations.

David went on to add: “We have already identified potential future commercial opportunities with Next Gen, especially around UK-projects focused on implementing pods and rapid passenger transport systems.

“In the medium-term, we are also exploring the potential of setting-up an additional offshore manufacturing operation that could help us gain entry into the South Asian and South East Asian aviation markets.”