Obvious Ventures
Assembly Line
Pyka Secures $40M Series B to Advance Commercialization of Dual-use Autonomous Electric Aircraft
Pyka, an electric aviation technology leader that designs and manufactures large-scale autonomous electric aircraft, announced a $40M Series B raise. The funding round was led by Obvious Ventures, with participation from both new and existing investors, including Piva Capital, Prelude Ventures, Metaplanet Holdings, and Y Combinator.
Pyka is rapidly commercializing autonomous electric aircraft by applying its technology to many of the world’s most critical flight missions, including agricultural crop protection, commercial cargo transportation, and defense logistics.
The new investment will accelerate Pyka’s growth across its dual-use product line. On the commercial side, it will support further investment in Pyka’s domestic manufacturing capabilities, boost production of its Pelican Spray and Pelican Cargo products, and enable expanded operations with both U.S. and international customers. Additionally, the Series B funds will advance the development of new capabilities to support contested logistics operations for the U.S. Department of Defense and allied partners.
Zanskar Raises $30 Million to Accelerate Discovery of Geothermal Energy for Clean and Affordable Power
Zanskar Geothermal & Minerals, the leading geothermal exploration company, announced the closing of $30M in new funding led by Obvious Ventures. The round, which includes participation by previous investors such as Munich Re Ventures, Union Square Ventures, Lowercarbon Capital, Safar Partners, and First Star Ventures, as well as newcomer Clearvision Ventures, enables Zanskar to scale its AI-led exploration technology to develop new geothermal resources. Zanskar will deploy the funds to accelerate technology development and advance its portfolio of greenfield power projects to serve new partnerships
Since its last fundraise in 2022, Zanskar has established itself as a leader in geothermal discovery. Public accomplishments include winning multiple contracts with the United States Department of Defense’s Defense Innovation Unit to explore new geothermal resources and advance their mission of energy resilience. In addition, its field data collection program collects more low-cost, early-stage field data every three months than what industry and academia combined did over the prior ten years. This early-stage field data program, in addition to rapidly iterating model predictions, enabled Zanskar to make more greenfield geothermal discoveries than the industry made over the prior ten years combined.
LightShip Series B
We are excited to share that we have closed a $34 million Series B financing to accelerate production and bring the L1 to your driveways. This round was co-led by Obvious Ventures and Prelude Ventures and joined by Allegis Capital and global RV manufacturer THOR Industries and its investment partner TechNexus Venture Collaborative. Returning investors Congruent Ventures, HyperGuap, and Alumni Ventures also joined the round.
Closing this fundraise ushers in a new chapter as we build the manufacturing system and supply chain to bring the L1 to production later this year. As great things often come in twos, we are also moving into our new pilot production facility in Broomfield, Colorado later this week.