Hanneke Weitering is a writer and editor with AIN covering advanced air mobility and new flight technologies. She became an aviation journalist and joined the AIN team in the summer of 2022 after reporting on spaceflight and astronomy for six years at Space.com. After earning a bachelor’s degree in physics from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, she moved to New York City to pursue a master’s degree in science, health, and environmental reporting at New York University&#039;s Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute. She is now based in Seattle near Boeing Field and spends her free time exploring nature in the Pacific Northwest.

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Hanneke Weitering

MightyFly, a California company developing autonomous, hybrid-electric cargo drones, has closed a $10 million funding round, the company announced on February 25. The latest fundraising round, led by investors including Draper Associates, At One Ventures, and 500 Global, brings MightyFly’s total capital raised to $15 million.
The fresh capital will support the development and testing of MightyFly’s flagship Cento aircraft, a hybrid-electric VTOL model designed to transport 100 pounds of cargo up to 600 miles at a cruise speed of 150 mph.&nbsp;
Since the company’s founding in 2019, MightyFly has built and flown three full-scale prototypes and claims to have more than 400 autonomous flights on the books. A <a href="https://www.ainonline.com/news-article/2024-01-27/mightyfly-rolls-out-third-generation-autonomous-evtol-freighter">third-generation Cento prototype</a> unveiled in early 2024 is already conducting aerial logistics operations in <a href="https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/futureflight/2024-05-04/mightyfly-flies-autonomous-freighter-faa-approved-corridor">FAA-approved flight corridors</a> under a special airworthiness certificate.
“We’re happy to share that we’re approved to fly in the Half Moon Bay Airport airspace, Byron Airport airspace, New Jerusalem Airport airspace, and the corridor between Byron Airport and New Jerusalem Airport,” MightyFly CEO Manal Habib told AIN. “We’re keeping our additional flight area—which includes multiple airports and corridors—confidential at this time.”
In late 2025, MightyFly announced <a href="https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/futureflight/2025-10-02/mightyfly-launch-medical-drone-delivery-service-california">a $50 million deal</a> with an undisclosed healthcare diagnostics firm to offer same-day deliveries of medical test kits in California and Nevada. Habib said the company intends to begin proof-of-concept delivery missions under that contract sometime this year, starting in California.
Habib said MightyFly is “actively engaged” with the FAA on a Part 135 air carrier and operator certificate, although she declined to speculate on the timeframe for certification and the launch of commercial services.&nbsp;
Meanwhile, the company still has some technological hurdles to overcome, including its first transition flight, which will demonstrate the aircraft’s ability to transition from hover to wingborne cruise flight. MightyFly had previously said it expected to achieve this milestone in 2025. Habib told AIN that the company will have more to share about transition flights in an upcoming announcement, adding that the aircraft is currently flying at about 70 mph (60 knots).
MightyFly plans to introduce a family of cargo drones with payloads ranging from 100 to 500 pounds. In addition to medical logistics, the company has been evaluating military applications for its autonomous freighters in collaboration <a href="https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/defense/2025-06-30/us-air-force-evaluates-mightyflys-cento-cargo-drone">with the U.S. Air Force</a>.

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