Terra Drone, the Japan-based leading drone service provider, has announced closing a $14 million bridge round led by Wa’ed Ventures, the Kingdom-focused venture capital arm of Aramco. Through this investment, Terra Drone plans to open a new subsidiary in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to localize its drone services as well as to continue to serve the global autonomous vehicles market expected to grow to $1.5 trillion by 2040, as projected by Morgan Stanley. Terra Drone has been in business since 2016, with a mission to evolve the world from the sky, said Toru Tokushige, founder and CEO of Terra Drone Corporation. “Six years later, we are now approaching a future where drones and aerial vehicles will no longer be a novelty,” he said. “We have built up a solid track record both domestically and internationally up to the point that Terra Drone has grown to be recognized as the top drone service provider in the world. Saudi Aramco's investment in Terra Drone through its VC arm Wa’ed Ventures is another example of the global recognition for our achievements, which raises the expectations for our team as we continue to push forward and lead Terra Drone to the forefront of the global innovation track,” added Tokushige. Fahad Alidi, Managing Director at Wa’ed Ventures, said: “Our investment represents our commitment towards building the UAM ecosystem in the Kingdom, one that circles around a sustainable economy." “Terra Drone is well-positioned to localize their innovation across the region, starting with the Kingdom,” added Alidi. Wa’ed Ventures’ investment comes as additional support to the $83 million already raised in previous funding rounds by Terra Drone. Earlier rounds included participation from Mitsui & Co. Ltd, SBI Investment Co. Ltd, Tokyu Land Corporation, and Seika Corporations; some of the largest institutional investors in the Asian market. The startup has served more than 10 countries worldwide since its founding, providing drone hardware and cloud-based software in over 1,000 projects, with an aim to create a “drone and air mobility-based society”.