Reliable Robotics Raises $115M, Hits $1B Valuation
Autonomous aviation startup Reliable Robotics raised $115M in capital, pushing its Series D to $275M and its valuation past $1B as it nears FAA certification.
Reliable Robotics, the startup building autonomous flight systems that bolt onto existing aircraft, just raised $115 million in new capital. The raise pushes the company's valuation over $1 billion, making it aviation tech's newest unicorn.
What the company announced
On October 20, 2026, Reliable Robotics announced the new funding through a press release. The $115 million upsizes its previously announced $160 million Series D round, which was increased after investor demand outran expectations. The package includes $90 million in equity funding led by Nimble Partners, a returning investor, plus a $25 million term loan from Silicon Valley Bank. With the extension, the Series D round now totals $275 million. The company says it has raised more than $380 million in equity capital to date. New investors in the round include Gideon Capital, RockCreek, Geek Ventures, Gold Hill Capital, and Sparkwave Capital, alongside returning investor Island Green Partners. Allen and Company supported the Series D fundraise.
What the money is for
The funding will be used to expand Reliable's fleet of aircraft and production facilities, and to scale its engineering team quickly. The company's core technology is the Reliable Autonomy System (RAS) paired with its Reliable Radar. The system is designed to prevent the leading causes of aviation accidents, such as loss of control and controlled flight into terrain. Critically, it is built to work with existing certified aircraft and aviation infrastructure, so it needs no changes to the National Airspace System for commercial operations.
The FAA certification push
Reliable Robotics is working to get its autonomous flight system certified by the Federal Aviation Administration, a milestone CEO Robert Rose says the startup keeps inching toward. Rose is a former director of flight software at SpaceX with past stints at Tesla and Google; co-founder and CTO Juerg Frefel also spent nearly a decade at SpaceX as an engineer. Its first product, called continuous autopilot engagement, handles engine startup, taxiing, takeoff, and landing for the pilot, who stays in the aircraft and interacts with the system through a touchscreen. Rose expects certification for this first system within 18 to 24 months.
Why this matters
Aviation is one of the most regulated industries in the world, so every step toward certification of new flight technology is a real signal of progress. Reliable's approach avoids building brand-new drones or air taxis and instead automates the aircraft that already fly, a strategy that could make adoption much faster if regulators sign off. With more than a decade of work behind it and fresh capital on the books, the next test is clear: turn engineering progress into certified products that commercial operators can actually deploy.
Sources
- Business Wire - https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20261020103258/en/Reliable-Robotics-Secures-$115M-in-New-Capital - TechCrunch - https://techcrunch.com/2026/10/20/spacex-alums-aviation-startup-reliable-robotics-lands-115m-topping-1b-valuation/