A Drone Racing League course. (Courtesy of DRL)
The Drone Racing League is looking to raise as much as $50 million in a Series C round and has already hit half that goal, according to SEC documents published this week.
The league, which hosts in-arena, first-person-view drone racing tournaments, has so far raised $26 million of its mid-stage round from a handful of investors that include Lux Capital and RSE Ventures. DRL declined an official comment on the round.
DRL has raised a total of $32 million in funding since its 2015 launch from backers that include Sky, Liberty Media (the owner of Formula 1), CRCM Ventures, Hearst Ventures, World Wrestling Entertainment, Allianz (the title sponsor of DRL’s premiere racing circuit), and Lux Capital. The DRL’s $20 million Series B closed in 2017.
Exactly how the league plans to utilize the funds is unclear, but in the past DRL has used capital to power expansion in the U.S and internationally. That has included building out advanced obstacle courses at prestigious sports arenas and further developing the simulator technology that is the basis for its esports-like global tryouts.
The 2017 funding round was in process around the same time as DRL’s first professional drone race in the U.K. That race featured a partnership with Betfair that enabled U.K. spectators to bet on the outcome through the Paddy Power Betfair app, Betfair Sportsbook. While DRL has worked in an unofficial capacity to drive engagement in the U.S. with the free-to-play HyraFPV app, which allows fans to make predictions about races, the league has yet to announce a sports betting partnership in the U.S.
DRL has reached tens of millions of users through its content. While only a small number of fans can attend live events, DRL produces content from each race that it shares with fans at a later date.
The company also recently spearheaded the development of a new circuit for autonomous drone racing. Competing for a $1 million prize pool, nine teams chosen from top-tier universities and aerospace institutes will compete in DRL’s new Artificial Intelligence Robotic Racing circuit.
