It was recently announced that Chinese investment fund Fiat Capital made investments in Russian-Estonian project of drone deliveries SKYFchain. Invest Foresight’s information suggests that the project was also invested by the UK’s Priority Token established by a Russian, Victor Larionov. The scope of investments is not disclosed. The two funds acquired SKYFchain tokens at an ICO in August.
Designed in Kazan, made in Cheboksary
SKYFchain is registered in Estonia for undertaking an ICO to support a project of manufacturing SKYF UAVs. The vehicle is intended to transport average payloads. It will be manufactured by Aviaresheniya (Cheboksary) owned by the UK’s ARDN Technology (according to Kontur.Focus service). SKYF drones are designed by Aviaresheniya design bureau. Alexander Timofeev is the project’s founder and CEO. He is also a managing partner at FPI investment fund and a founder of Microbor-Nanotech and InvestKinoProject. Prior to the ICO, SKYFchain’s key investor was FPI registered in 2011 and specializing in startups in the areas of new materials, laser and energy saving technologies.
FPI partner Ilya Rodin holds control of the Aviaresheniya design bureau. According to Kontur.Focus service, he holds 37.5% stake of the company (a 26.1% share is held by Dmitry Arsentiev, company’s former CEO).
SKYF is a vertical lift UAV which can ensure an autonomous cargoes delivery, farms cultivation, fighting fires. At the moment, the maximum payload of a SKYF is 250 kilos. With a payload of 50 or less kilos, its flight range can reach 350 kilometers with a flight endurance of up to 8 hour. The size of a SKYF UAV is quite big, 5.2 by 2.2 meters. It can be located in a cargo container and made ready to fly within 10 minutes. Its flight is fully automatic and its flight assignment is protected by a cryptographic signature and is approved by the main operations control center thereby excluding any risks of the platform being launched in potentially hazardous areas and directions. Other innovations include an automated parachute vehicle/cargo rescue system, and an upgraded obstacle clearance system.
Three versions of the platform have been developed. One is intended for aerial crops practicing, one for deliveries to remote areas, and one more for extinguishing wild fires and for air spraying of protective chemicals. A 500 kilos UAV can help farms save 75% on spraying chemicals over the fields, and courier companies to swiftly deliver cargos to inaccessible areas in Siberia and the Far East.
Blockchain flights
Another essential element of the SKYF project is a blockchain platform (possibly based on smart contracts) intended to record and implement flight assignment for UAVs. The platform is based on Ethereum. SKYFT tokens (ERC20 standard) will be used as an internal cryptocurrency for the SKYFchain operating system. Last September, SKYFchain reported of its plans to open an office in South Korea at Jeju island – by joining the local blockchain commune. The project’s team has developed one of the first routes of its unmanned drone, from Jeju to mainland Korea.
SKYFchain plans to spend $50 mio within the next five years to repurchase its tokens. China’s Fiat Capital fund has acquired most of the tokens, but the exact figure is not disclosed.
Chinese investor
Fiat Capital is not just an investment fund, but a token fund focused on AI, IoT, FinTech and games areas. Fiat Capital’s head Tony Ling had a meeting with investors on July 9, on the eve of the SKYFchain’s ICO, at Moscow’s Deworkacy (former Red October chocolate factory), and explained how funding from Chinese investment funds may be obtained. Tony Ling who is a co-founder of the Blockchain Association of the Zhejian Province University, has personally invested over $100 bln in blockchain projects all over the world.
“Fiat Capital is our marketing partner in China and one of our institutional investors”, Ilya Rodin says, yet declining to disclose any details of the deal.
It’s noteworthy that Fiat Capital made investments in SKYFchain after China’s largest logistics company, ZTO Express, had shown interest in SKYFchain drones. A cooperation agreement between ZTO Express and SKYFchain was signed in late June at the Mobile World Congress in Shanghai. The scope of UAVs supply is not disclosed. The manufacturer has undertaken to keep its Chinese partner informed of the tests progress and on issue of respective certificates and licenses.
The meeting Tony Ling had with investors in Moscow was arranged by Priority Token, a consulting and investment company which helps startups with their ICOs, and which has offices in London, Singapore, Moscow, and Dubai. Priority Token is owned by Victor Larionov, a venture investor and founder of Moscow-based MOST Marketing advertizing agency. The services of Priority Token have already been used by some 50 startup projects including Playkey, Faceter, etc. In March, Larionov jointly with Igor Kovalyov and Dmitry Starodubtsev (developers of a 3D pen using dry ink) launched HAX Ventures fund in Singapore. Yet neither Larionov, nor Rodin make any comments on Priority Token’s involvement with SKYFchain’s ICO.
“That was a SKYFchain’s requirement”, Larionov explains.
By Natalia Kuznetsova