With growing demand for safer, faster, and smarter inspections, Voliro’s tiltable-rotor drones lead the shift toward autonomous industrial maintenance
Voliro Secures Funding to Scale Autonomous Aerial Robots
Zurich-based aerial robotics company Voliro has announced the successful extension of its Series A funding round, raising a total of $23 million. Backed by venture capital firms Cherry Ventures, noa, and UBS, the investment will help scale Voliro’s innovative drone technology that enables autonomous, contact-based inspections of industrial infrastructure.
Voliro’s drones are built to inspect hard-to-reach structures such as flare stacks, chimneys, storage tanks, and wind turbines. Their patented tiltable-rotor design and modular payload system allow for close-up, non-destructive testing without the need for scaffolding or rope access. These drones help reduce downtime and cut inspection costs by up to 50%, offering faster and safer alternatives to traditional inspection methods.
The funding will support further development of Voliro’s flagship platform, the Voliro T. Planned upgrades include deeper cloud integration, enhanced autonomy, and AI-powered reporting tools. These advancements are designed to help industries move toward more frequent, fully automated inspections.
Addressing Infrastructure Risk and Workforce Gaps
Voliro’s technology arrives at a critical time. Industrial assets are aging, and traditional inspection methods are becoming increasingly risky and expensive. Failures in these assets—often due to corrosion or fatigue—can be catastrophic and costly. Globally, corrosion-related issues cost the economy an estimated $2.5 trillion every year.
“Voliro’s technology directly addresses a trifecta of global needs: improving industrial resilience and safety, enabling the climate adaptation and energy transition by better maintaining assets like wind farms, and alleviating severe workforce shortages in the inspection field. Our technology represents a necessary tool to protect the built environment that we all rely on,” said Voliro CEO Florian Gutzwiller.
The aging workforce in non-destructive testing (NDT) adds to the urgency. In the U.S., nearly two-thirds of certified NDT professionals are over the age of 40. As older inspectors retire, industries must find new tools that reduce the need for manual access while appealing to younger, tech-savvy workers.
Proven Technology with a Growing Global Footprint
Since its founding in 2019, Voliro has built a customer base of more than 40 companies in 17 countries, including Chevron, Holcim, and Acuren. Its aerial robots perform over 100 contact-based inspections per month, supporting industries such as energy, chemicals, and renewables.
Voliro’s impact is especially notable in the wind sector. The company reports that its drones can complete lightning protection system (LPS) inspections five times faster than manual methods, delivering instant insights while reducing costs and avoiding turbine downtime.
The investment from noa, Europe’s largest venture capital firm focused on the built world, reflects confidence in Voliro’s potential. “Large-scale industrial inspections are a massive opportunity for robotics and automation disruption,” said Gregory Dewerpe, Founder and Managing Partner at noa. “We’re delighted to partner with Voliro, a breakthrough platform with the potential to transform how critical infrastructure is maintained and safeguarded in the decades to come.”
Vision for the Future of Infrastructure Maintenance
Voliro aims to reshape how the world monitors and maintains infrastructure. By combining robotics, AI, and real-world industrial needs, the company offers a scalable approach to asset health that reduces human risk while improving data quality.
“Infrastructure is the backbone of modern civilization—and maintaining it is one of the great challenges of our time,” Gutzwiller said. “With the support of noa Ventures and a growing network of forward-looking customers, we’re delivering on a vision that once felt like science fiction: autonomous aerial robots at the forefront of industrial intelligence.”
Voliro is a spin-off of ETH Zurich’s Autonomous Systems Lab and continues to lead in developing solutions that make industrial maintenance safer, more efficient, and more attractive to a new generation of workers.
For more information, visit www.voliro.com.
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Miriam McNabb is the Editor-in-Chief of DRONELIFE and CEO of JobForDrones, a professional drone services marketplace, and a fascinated observer of the emerging drone industry and the regulatory environment for drones. Miriam has penned over 3,000 articles focused on the commercial drone space and is an international speaker and recognized figure in the industry. Miriam has a degree from the University of Chicago and over 20 years of experience in high tech sales and marketing for new technologies.
For drone industry consulting or writing, Email Miriam.
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