SkyCell, a Swiss startup, has raised $116 million in its Series D funding round to continue expanding its business in the transportation of valuable and fragile medicines and their components around the world. The company’s innovative hardware and software solutions aim to improve the efficiency and sustainability of the transportation process.
The funding round was led by Tybourne Capital Management and CCI, with additional investment from M&G Investments’ purpose-led private assets strategy Catalyst. The round values SkyCell at $635 million, a significant increase from its previous valuation.
SkyCell’s technology uses machine learning and software to maintain constant conditions for drugs that require strict temperature, humidity, and vibration controls. The company’s software logistics system, SkyMind, enables the transportation of drugs around the globe on behalf of pharmaceutical companies, charities, and health organizations.
The demand for secure transportation of medicines has grown significantly over the years, with SkyCell experiencing 50% annual growth. The company now moves $2.5 billion worth of pharmaceutical products and ingredients every month, including vaccines, cancer treatments, diabetes medicines, and diagnostic treatments.
SkyCell’s CEO, Richard Ettl, attributes the company’s growth to the increasing complexity of the pharmaceutical industry, particularly in terms of decarbonization. Pharmaceutical companies are under pressure to reduce their carbon footprint, and SkyCell’s containers, which are 50% lighter than those of its competitors, help to achieve this goal.
The company’s innovative technology has also led to the development of individual components being sold directly to customers. For example, SkyCell’s smart thermometer is now being sold to a pharmaceutical company to use in their own storage environments.
Tybourne Capital Management’s MD, Bosun Hau, praised SkyCell’s comprehensive system, saying it is well-positioned to become the technology partner of choice for the global pharmaceutical industry. SkyCell’s innovative solutions are transforming the pharmaceutical logistics industry, which has seen little innovation over the past several decades.
