The verified answer
As of Oct 2026, DEPLOY verifies Elroy Air: 1 model, 2 deployments across 1 region, $165.0M raised. 3 sources back the record.
CategoryDrones
Appears inLogistics robots/Delivery drones
Overview
Elroy Air is a San Francisco-based developer of autonomous VTOL cargo drones including the Chaparral, a heavy-cargo uncrewed aerial system for middle-mile logistics. The company is going public via a $1 billion SPAC merger with Columbus Circle Capital Corp II, with an $800M pre-money valuation and expected Nasdaq listing in Q4 2026.
Verified record
- Verified deployments
- 2 deployments on file
- Active incidents
- None on file
Valuation of record
DEPLOY VERIFIEDPriced roundSPAC merger (Columbus Circle Capital Corp. II) post-money
Key facts
CEO
Product
SPAC merger
Expected listing
Chaparral aircraft
Autonomous cargo delivery
Data & sources
Press releases
2
Web sources
1
3 sources backing this record.View all →
Models (1)
View all models →Elroy Air on the deployment map
View the global map2 verified deployments across 1 region, newest verified Jan 2024. Explore where Elroy Air's robots are operating, by place and type.
View the full Elroy Air deployment record →
Relationships
Current leadership (1)
- Andrew Clare CEOreported, not verified
Safety record
No incidents on record for Elroy Air.
Only active incidents are counted. Retracted incidents are excluded from this summary but remain reachable at their canonical URLs.
Full safety record: incidents, sourcing, and exposure data →
Operator customers (1)
- Elroy Air2 deployments
Recent coverage
Elroy Air in third-party press
Peer companies
- Amazon25 models
- Anduril Industries7 models
- DJI7 models
- Skydio6 models
- SIYI Technology5 models
- Autel Robotics4 models
Financial state
- Total funding
- $165.0M
- Reporting basis
- private_reported
- Lifecycle stage
- growth
- Counterparty risk class
- moderate
Each numeric field carries its own basis marker. Aggregators report a number; this surface preserves the source class so verification depth travels with the value.
Funding rounds (1)
- SPAC merger (Columbus Circle Capital Corp. II)2026-06-26
$165M(reported) · $1.0B post
Timeline
Every recorded move in Elroy Air’s history, most recent first: funding rounds, partnerships, acquisitions, supply-chain starts, key hires, and press.
New supplierNew supplier: Kratos Defense
2026-08-23Supply: Exclusive US manufacturer for Chaparral drone from Kratos Defense
Funding roundSPAC merger (Columbus Circle Capital Corp. II) funding round
2026-06-26SPAC merger (Columbus Circle Capital Corp. II) raising $165000000
Recent activity
Every change to this record is dated, sourced, and independently verified where marked.
- Record createdJul 3, 2026
Added to the verified registry
- Deployment verifiedVerifiedJan 1, 2024
Elroy Air VTOL at Byron, California
- Deployment verifiedVerifiedJul 1, 2023
Elroy Air VTOL at Travis Air Force Base, California
Sources (3)
Common questions
What is Elroy Air?
What does Elroy Air make?
Is Elroy Air publicly traded?
Who competes with Elroy Air?
Who is the CEO of Elroy Air?
How can I invest in Elroy Air?
Where is Elroy Air headquartered?
How much funding has Elroy Air raised?
Where does Elroy Air operate robots?
How many robots has Elroy Air deployed?
Is Elroy Air a top robotics company?
Is Elroy Air safe?
Methodology: Verified · 3 sources (2 primary) · last reviewed 2026-09-29
Verification posture
Verified
High confidence
Review state
Stable
Last reviewed 2026-09-29
Sources by quality tier
- 2
- primary-company-ir
- Company IR disclosure
- 1
- unclassified
- Unclassified source
The framework is documented at /methodology. Corrections at /corrections. Reviewer: DEPLOY editorial team.
Methodology surface for Elroy Air.Peer companies
- Amazon25 models
- Anduril Industries7 models
- DJI7 models
- Skydio6 models
- SIYI Technology5 models
- Autel Robotics4 models
In the press
Recent coverage mentioning Elroy Air from third-party publications. Automatically surfaced; not part of the verified registry record.
Elroy Air secures fresh funding to scale Chaparral drone production
Elroy Air is getting a much bigger financial runway as it prepares to turn its autonomous cargo drone into a production aircraft. The California-based company has expanded its…
Elroy Air Announced Increased PIPE Investments of $175 Million
Elroy Air has increased the size of its previously announced private investment in public equity (PIPE) commitments to $175 million, The post Elroy Air Announced Increased PIPE…
Bristow Group Reserves 10 More Elroy Air Chaparral Aircraft
Bristow Group has expanded its early delivery reservations for Elroy Air’s Chaparral autonomous cargo aircraft, securing 10 additional delivery positions The post Bristow Group…
Elroy Air’s Chaparral flies pilot-free under FAA oversight
The future of cargo delivery may have just taken a significant leap forward. California-based Elroy Air says it has successfully completed the first fully autonomous, uncrewed…
Elroy Air Completes First Autonomous Cargo Flights Under FAA eVTOL Program
Elroy Air has completed a series of autonomous, uncrewed flights under the U.S. Department of Transportation and Federal Aviation Administration’s The post Elroy Air Completes…
Elroy Air Secures $46 Million U.S. Army Contract for Autonomous Cargo Drone
Elroy Air has been awarded a $46 million, multi-year contract by the U.S. Army to develop an autonomous hybrid-electric vertical The post Elroy Air Secures $46 Million U.S. Army…
US Army awards Elroy Air $46M for heavy-lift drone
Heavy-lift drone developer Elroy Air has secured a major vote of confidence from the US Army. The California-based company announced it has been awarded a $46 million multi-year…
U.S. Army awards Elroy Air $46 million cargo drone deal
The U.S. Army has awarded Elroy Air a $46 million contract to develop an autonomous, hybrid-electric VTOL aircraft for modular cargo delivery, according to a Department of War…
Elroy Air Demonstrates Autonomous VTOL Cargo Delivery for U.S. Army
Aviation News Daily reports, "Elroy Air has successfully demonstrated three new unattended delivery modes for its Chaparral autonomous hybrid-electric VTOL aircraft during... The…
Elroy Air Expands Chaparral Drone Delivery Options Under U.S. Army Contract
Elroy Air has developed three unattended delivery modes for its Chaparral autonomous cargo aircraft under a U.S. Army contract. The The post Elroy Air Expands Chaparral Drone…
Elroy Air SPAC merger with Columbus Circle II at 00M
Columbus Circle Capital Corp II announced 00M merger with Elroy Air, autonomous VTOL cargo drone company.
Elroy Air to go public via $1 billion SPAC deal
Elroy Air announced a SPAC merger with Columbus Circle Capital Corp II valued at $1 billion, with an $800M pre-money valuation and expected Nasdaq listing in Q4 2026.
Machine-readable surfaces
- Markdown mirror: /companies/elroy-air.md
- RSS feed: /companies/elroy-air/feed.xml
- JSON-LD: embedded in this page’s head
- REST API: /v1/companies/ffd40c82-7150-42c8-bc25-873a9765d214
- Revision history: /companies/elroy-air/history
- Data documentation: /data
- Query this programmatically: Deploy MCP
Peer companies
- Amazon25 models
- Anduril Industries7 models
- DJI7 models
- Skydio6 models
- SIYI Technology5 models
- Autel Robotics4 models
Video
Heat Index
Category contender75/100
A composite of competitive footprint, funding, press velocity, active partnerships, and supply-chain edges. Different from the Intelligence score below (which is per-form-factor productization). Non-robotics companies cap at 25.
Reality vs attention
Elroy Air draws attention at the 86th percentile but verifies reality at the 23rd percentile among aerial robots. Hype Gap +62.8, 13th widest among aerial robots.
6-month trend
Analysis
Clean safety record across 2 verified deployments. Well-capitalized with $165M raised and recent funding activity. Deployment footprint remains limited relative to category peers.
Signal flags
Dimension breakdown
Verified signal
Attention (reach, not merit)
DEPLOY Intelligence scores are computed from verified registry data: confirmed deployments, disclosed funding rounds, regulatory filings, active job listings, video viewership, and press coverage. Confidence ratings reflect data availability. Scores update nightly.
DEPLOY Indices — verified vs claimed
Last computed: Oct 2, 2026