Pablo Air, a specialized autonomous cluster control company for unmanned mobile vehicles, secured a ₩21 billion investment in a pre-IPO round as it prepares for a technology-driven listing in the second half of next year. 

Key investors included KDB, BeHigh Investment–Kiwoom Asset Management, Daishin Securities–SBI Investment, Yuanta Securities, GS Construction CVC (Xplorer Investment), and SM Entertainment’s former CEO, Lee Soo-man, who joined as an angel investor.

Established in 2018, Pablo Air has developed technology for “unmanned mobile vehicle autonomous cluster flight” and an “integrated control system.” The company focuses on drone shows, drone deliveries, and the commercialization of Urban Air Mobility (UAM). It is also involved in defense unmanned mobile vehicle projects and has accumulated ₩43 billion in funds within five years. Pablo Air plans to demonstrate its growth as a specialized company in unmanned mobile vehicle cluster control to the public and successfully proceed with its technology exception IPO listing.

With this investment, Pablo Air plans to expand into overseas markets, especially emphasizing the sale of performance drones developed with its proprietary technology and overseas expansion for drone shows. The company recently appointed Kim Won-kyung, former General Manager at Intel, which organized drone shows at the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, as the Chief of its U.S. subsidiary. Pablo Air aims to expand its drone show offerings and provide multimedia show-capable drones for overseas markets, beyond the domestic market, meeting the drone show needs in the Middle East and Southeast Asia.

In the field of Urban Air Mobility (UAM), Pablo Air plans to expand the domestic and international drone and UAM sectors, including the development of Drone Traffic Management (UTM) and the professional analysis and informatization of the drone and aviation industry trends, and building infrastructure. Last year, Pablo Air was the first startup to join the K-UAM (Korean-style urban air mobility) consortium, and it has been working on the Grand Challenge Phase 1 proposal. Furthermore, it is jointly developing the UAM traffic management platform with LG Uplus and the operational system for a downtown landing pad with GS Construction.

Pablo Air CEO Kim Young-jun stated, “The investment market was not easy due to the economic downturn, but I consider this result as proof of Pablo Air’s potential and growth prospects.” He added, “10% of the investment amount will be reinvested in startups that can create synergy with us, to build an unmanned mobility ecosystem.”