Airware
| Industry | UAV Systems |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2011 |
| Headquarters | San Francisco, California |
Key people | Jonathan Downey (President/CEO) |
| Website | Airware.com |
Airware (incorporated as Unmanned Innovation, Inc.) is an American venture-funded startup that provides commercial unmanned aerial vehicles for enterprises.[1] Airware was founded in 2011 in Newport Beach, California, by Chief Executive Officer Jonathan Downey. The company relocated to San Francisco in January 2014.[2]
The company produces enterprise drones which combine hardware, on-aircraft and mobile software, and cloud services. Downey has stated the company is focused on building systems for drones for commercial uses, including anti-poaching efforts, infrastructure inspections, and precision agriculture.[3]
History
Airware was founded by Downey in 2011 out of a frustration with the "inflexible and costly" autopilot systems for unmanned aircraft.[4] Airware was incubated at both Lemnos Labs and Y Combinator. The company has raised $70 million in venture funding from Andreessen Horowitz, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Next World Capital, First Round Capital, Google Ventures, Intel Capital and GE Ventures.[5] In March 2016, the company announced a $30 million Series C round of financing led by Next World Capital with Andreessen Horowitz, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and Cisco Systems executive chairman John T. Chambers.[6] Andreessen Horowitz partner Chris Dixon, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers partner Mike Abbott, and John T. Chambers are members of the company’s board.[7] In 2015, Airware launched a new venture fund for commercial drones to support "scaling the use of drones across a variety of commercial applications."[8][9] Airware purchased Redbird, a drone analytics software company, in 2016.[10]
Products and services
Airware offers enterprise drone services combining hardware, on-aircraft and mobile software, and cloud services for industries like mining, insurance, and construction.[11] Airware offers navigation software for drones, table software to guide and monitors drones in flight, and cloud services to store and manage the information gathered by drones.[12] Where most software is designed for specific models of drones, Airware is developing a platform that enables compatibility across aircraft.[13] The company previously collaborated with commercial drone manufacturers to integrate its autopilot hardware and software, but now consults directly with enterprise clients to identify solutions and to ensure regulatory compliance.[7][14][15]
References
- ^ "Company". Airware Inc. Retrieved 2013-05-30.
- ^ Sablan, Kevin (22 December 2013). "O.C. drone company moving to Bay Area". Orange County Register. Retrieved 2 April 2014.
- ^ "Rhino-Saving Drones Give Surveillance a Kinder Look". Bloomberg Businessweek. 2013-06-28.
- ^ Simonite, Tom (2016). "Innovators Under 35: Jonathan Downey". MIT Technology Review.
- ^ "Airware". Crunchbase. Retrieved 2016-04-07.
- ^ Vanian, Jonathan (2016-03-31). "Cisco's John Chambers Just Invested In A Hot Drone Startup". Fortune.
- ^ a b Mac, Ryan (2016-03-31). "Drone Startup Airware Raises $30 Million, Adds Cisco's John Chambers To Board". Forbes.
- ^ Terdiman, Daniel (2015-05-27). "Drone OS Developer Airware Launches New Fund For Commercial Drones". Fast Company.
- ^ Constine, Josh (2015-05-27). "Airware And DJI/Accel Launch Drone Investment Funds". TechCrunch.
- ^ Haggin, Patience (2016-09-22). "Commercial Drone Startup Airware Buys Drone Analytics Software Redbrid". The Wall Street Journal.
- ^ "Forty Under 40: Jonathan Downey, Airware". San Francisco Business Times. 2017-03-09.
- ^ Jansen, Bart (2015-12-15). "Airware CEO is Small Business Innovator of the year". USA Today.
- ^ Jansen, Bart (2015-07-27). "Airware Navigates future of drones". USA Today.
- ^ Haggin, Patience (2016-10-24). "Drone Startups Pivoting to Enterprise Services". The Wall Street Journal.
- ^ Haggin, Patience (2016-03-31). "Airware Takes Off With $30 Million for Commercial Drone Operating System". The Wall Street Journal.
Further reading
- Russon, Mary-Ann (September 12, 2014). "Drone Operating System: MIT Startup Airware and Nasa Transforming Hobby into Commercial Industry". International Business Times. Retrieved February 9, 2017.
{{cite web}}: Invalid|ref=harv(help) - "Drones CAN'T deliver goods ... oh. Air traffic control system backed by NASA, you say?". The Register. September 16, 2014. Retrieved February 9, 2017.
- Gallagher, Sean (August 14, 2013). "Raspberry Fly? Airware's Linux and ARM developer platform for drones". Ars Technica. Retrieved February 9, 2017.
{{cite web}}: Invalid|ref=harv(help) - "Why Is America Losing the Commercial Drone Wars?". Washington Monthly.
- "Caterpillar invests in Airware bringing drone tech to mining and construction enterprises". February 2, 2017. TechCrunch.
- Benton, Dale (March 17, 2017). "Reach for the sky: Airware and the future of drones in the mining industry". Mining Global. Retrieved June 8, 2017.
{{cite web}}: Invalid|ref=harv(help) - Intelligence, BI (September 23, 2016). "Airware acquires drone-powered analytics company". Business Insider. Retrieved June 8, 2017.