A Sydney startup that’s created a shark skin-inspired film to reduce drag on planes has raised $28 million Series A for its global launch.
The raise for Mako was led by existing investor Virescent Ventures , with support from International Airlines Group (IAG), Zero Infinity Partners, Grok Ventures, Skip Capital, IP Group and TreeArc.
Blair Pritchard, partner at Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC)-backed climate tech VC Virescent, said Mako “has the potential to be the biggest Australian aviation story since Qantas”.””.
The Series A comes three months after Mako received a $3.07 million grant under the federal government’s Industry Growth Program to build custom roll-to-roll manufacturing equipment and certification for its drag reduction product, Flightfilm.
The new funding will go towards Flightfilm’s regulatory approval in Australia, Europe and the USA, as well as manufacturing the plan skin for pre-orders from commercial airline and defence clients.
Mako’s commercial aviation partnerships include Delta Air Lines, and pending trials with major carriers in the Asia Pacific region, as well as pilot with IAG subsidiary Vueling, later this year.
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Mako’s Flightfilm being installed on a USAF Super Hercules.
Drag reduction savings
The technology has the potential to reduce drag and thus fuel consumption by around 4% per aircraft, cutting costs and carbon emissions, after being tested on a US Air Force C-130J ‘Super Hercules.
Mako, previously known as MicroTau, was founded in 2015 by Henry Bilinsky. In 2022, the Sydney startup raised a $5.6 million Seed round led by the CEFC, and including Canva investor Bill Tai’s ACTAI Ventures.
Henry Bilinsky, Mako’s CEO, said the product delivers a much-needed efficiency solution for airlines at a time when rising fuel costs have them still cutting routes, raising fares and adding surcharges.
“We’re flight proven, manufacturing ready, and have commercial and defense customers lined up. This funding accelerates Mako’s mission as we complete certification, deliver to those customers, and scale production for the global aviation fleet,” he said.
“As the industry reels from a global fuel shock, one thing is clear: whether it’s cutting emissions, increasing mission capability, or saving on an airline’s biggest operating cost – efficiency never goes out of style.”
Blair Pritchard said that like the shark it’s named after, the world’s fastest, Mako is fast-moving.
“We have a lot of conviction in this team having backed them across four rounds of investment since 2022. Mako meaningfully improves the efficiency of aircraft already in service,” he said.
“It’s incredibly gratifying to see them winning contracts around the world with civilian and allied military aviation customers.”
The Mako Flightfilm
