Embraer announced the signing of an investment agreement to acquire a minority shareholding in XMobots, the largest drone company in Latin America with operations in São Carlos, in the countryside of São Paulo, Brazil.
The transaction will be made via an investment fund in which Embraer is the sole partner, with an additional investment option in the future. The conclusion is subject to accomplishment conditions and obtaining the usual approvals for this type of transaction.
The deal aims to accelerate the future of the medium and large autonomous drone market and jointly explore new market niches. It also seeks to expand the collaboration network in the research of new technologies that have synergies within the areas of technological development, Embraer's business, and innovation, as well as Embraer-X.
“Our investment strategy and venture capital operations have a strong emphasis on innovation and partnerships, which are pillars of our growth plan for the coming years,” said Daniel Moczydlower, Head of Innovation at Embraer and President and CEO of Embraer-X.
“Initiatives like this are fundamental to leverage ecosystems, expand knowledge and recognize entrepreneurs who generate businesses with exponential growth potential and high-value creation for society,” he added.
With an engaged and creative team, XMobots was born with the mission to develop the mobile robot market and helped make drones a daily reality for the Precision Agriculture and Geotechnology markets in Brazil and Latin America.
“This engagement results in innovations such as service provider platforms with drones, hybrid propulsion and power technologies, artificial intelligence of image analysis, and especially in aeronautical certifications,” said Giovani Amianti, Founder and CEO of XMobots.
“With this investment, we will be able to walk together in the development of technologies that will consolidate autonomous aerial robots and accelerate solutions for the Geotechnology, Agro, Environmental, Inspection, Defense and Public Security, Logistics and Urban Mobility markets that are points of convergence between XMobots and Embraer,” Amianti noted.
Once the transaction is complete, the companies aim to work together to create Memorandums of Understanding related to operations in the Civilian and Defense & Security markets.
The partnership is supported by Embraer's more than 50 years of history and experience in developing, certifying, manufacturing, marketing aircraft and providing after-sales services.
A global aerospace company headquartered in Brazil, Embraer has businesses in Commercial and Executive Aviation, Defense & Security and Agricultural Aviation. The company designs, develops, manufactures and markets aircraft and systems, providing after-sales Service and Support to customers. Since it was founded in 1969, Embraer has delivered more than 8,000 aircraft.
On average, every 10 seconds an aircraft manufactured by Embraer takes off somewhere in the world, carrying more than 145 million passengers a year. Embraer is the main manufacturer of commercial jets with up to 150 seats and the main exporter of high value-added goods in Brazil.
The company maintains industrial units, offices, service centers and parts distribution, among other activities, in the Americas, Africa, Asia and Europe.
Present in the market since 2007, XMobots is the leading drone company in Latin America, ranked as the 14th largest civilian drone company in the world by Drone Industry Insights, a global consultancy that is a reference in research on the drone market. XMobots specializes in the development and manufacture of high-performance VTOL drones and related technologies, such as multispectral sensors, gyro-stabilized optronic sensors, data analysis software based on Artificial Intelligence, drone service provider platform, among others.
With around 200 employees, including more than 60 engineers in research and development, the company has a consolidated presence in the sale of drones and services for markets such as Agriculture, Geotechnologies, Defense and Security, in addition to developing new projects for the Logistics sector. and Urban Mobility. XMobots’ activities cover 100% of the national territory and countries in Latin America and Africa.
Embraer-X is an incubator and Embraer’s innovation agent that transforms ideas into innovative businesses. Headquartered on Florida's Space Coast in Melbourne, USA, with offices in Brazil and in the Netherlands, it aims to structure new high-return businesses to expand Embraer’s global market and avoid disruptions, combining agility and adaptability with expertise in complex solutions for leverage the multimodal and integrated mobility ecosystem.
