Hanwha invests $115 mn in urban air mobility firm Overair

South Korea’s Hanwha Systems Co. and Hanwha Aerospace Co. have invested a combined $115 million in Series B funding for Overair Inc., a California-based urban air mobility (UAM) company, the two Hanwha Group affiliates announced on Tuesday.

The investment is to accelerate the development of Butterfly, Overair’s experimental aircraft prototype, to be finished by the third quarter of 2023. Defense company Hanwha Systems and aircraft engine producer Hanwha Aerospace respectively injected $50 million and $65 million in the Series B round.

The two Hanwha affiliates acquired Overair’s convertible notes, short-term debt that converts into equities when a company’s value is estimated for a future financing round.

As an Overair financial investor holding around a 30% stake, Hanwha Systems injected $25 million in Overair’s Series A funding in 2019 and $30 million in August 2021. The Korean defense company is collaborating with Overair in the joint development of Butterfly.

Hanwha Systems is boosting the expansion of its presence in the global commercial space market. In May, the defense company signed a memorandum of understanding with Italy’s major defense maker Leonard SpA to cooperate in global sales of active electronically scanned array (AESA) radars.  

In August 2021, the defense company said it will inject $300 million in UK’s satellite communication firm OneWeb to acquire an 8.8% stake.   

Hanwha Aerospace is also developing system technology for small projectiles able to launch a satellite weighing about 500 kilograms into space along with the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI), the airlift engine producer announced in December 2021. In May 2021, it was awarded a $320 million deal to supply aircraft engine parts to General Electric Co. for four years from 2023.

Write to Kyung-Min Kang at kkm1026@hankyung.com
Jihyun Kim edited this article.