EHANG, maker of the Ghost Drone, says it has closed $10 million in Series A funding led by GGV Capital.
EHANG says it will use this new round of funding to meet demand amassed from its Indiegogo campaign by expanding its team and ramping up manufacturing efforts. It will give the company the opportunity to accelerate growth in both China and the U.S.
The Ghost Drone does not require any assembly or a separate remote control; instead, it can be controlled through a smartphone app, which sends an alert when the battery is low, the company explains. Takeoff, hover, return and land are all pre-programmed on the app.
The drone features an auto-follow option that allows the aircraft to autonomously fly over the user. EHANG says it is the first to unveil the “tilt” control feature, which allows users to control their Ghost Drones by tilting their smartphone.
The Ghost Drone crowdfunding campaign launched on Indiegogo on Nov. 10. The company says it surpassed its $100,000 Indiegogo goal in the first 24 hours of the campaign and has raised over $600,000 to date. Due to this strong sustained demand, EHANG says, it has extended its pre-sale campaign to Jan. 9.
Angel investors in the round are Chinese entrepreneurs Xiaoping Xu and Nick Yang. PreAngel, a fund focused on early-stage start-ups, is also contributing to the round.
The Ghost Drones are available to pre-order for $375 at Indiegogo. EHANG expects them to ship before the end of January.
