Waterloo drone-maker Aeryon Labs Inc. has closed a $60 million funding round from American investment firm Summit Partners, which will help to accelerate the company’s already impressive growth.

Aeryon is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of small unmanned aerial systems, or sUAS, and mission control software. The company has sold its drones to customers in 35 companies. Last year it placed No. 7 in the Deloitte Fast 50 list of the top high-growth companies in Canada and No. 14 in the North American Technology Fast 500 ranking. The announcement from Deloitte, which requires that entrants have at least $5 million in revenue, said Aeryon’s revenues had increased 10,670 percent over the five years to 2014.

Boston-based Summit Partners, which has offices in Silicon Valley and London, was the only participant in the funding round.

“This is a significant milestone for Aeryon Labs,” said Aeryon President and CEO Dave Kroetsch in a statement. “It validates our technical lead in the market and our ’aviation not recreation‘ approach to building sUAS, which is quickly making Aeryon a first choice for utility inspectors, first responders and soldiers in the most demanding operational environments.”

In its seven years of existence, Aeryon has focused on practical commercial applications of unmanned vehicles, such as those listed by Kroetsch. Its applications include monitoring utility installations, search and rescue and environmental cleanups. It said it will use the money from Summit to extend its lead in manufacturing entreprise-grade vehicles. 

In taking funding from Summit, it is partnering with a backer that is now investing more than $6.5 billion in debt and equity. It has invested in more than 400 companies in IT, healthcare and other growth sectors, and more than 135 of these companies have completed initial public offering. Its past and present portfolio companies include E-TEK Dynamics, Casa Systems, FleetCor, Hittite Microwave, Uber, Ubiquiti Networks and Welltec International.

“Much of the Summit portfolio is comprised of founder-led companies, poised to take commanding positions in high-growth industries,” said Summit Managing Director Len Ferrington, who will join the Aeryon board. “We believe Aeryon exemplifies these characteristics. The market for sUAS is rapidly expanding, and we believe that Aeryon is a best-of-breed provider that is well positioned to capitalize on those opportunities.”

The Aeryon website mentions no previous funding rounds, and the only Aeryon investor listed on AngelList is the MaRS Investment Accelerator Fund, which invests up to $500,000 in its portfolio companies. In June, 2012, the company received $985,000 in funding from the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario.