US: Aerial data provider, PrecisionHawk has closed an $18 million round of funding from new investors Verizon Ventures, a USAA subsidiary, NTT Docomo Ventures and Yamaha Motor. Existing investors like Intel Capital, Millennium Technology Value Partners and Indiana University’s Innovate Indiana Fund also participated in the round.
The investment reinforces PrecisionHawk’s mission to provide the world’s best data and safety technologies to accelerate the commercial use of drones and build the tools that matter most to its key markets (agriculture, insurance and telecommunications).
With this investment, PrecisionHawk’s total funding has reached more than $30 million that will further accelerate the expansion of its terrestrial data analysis platform, DataMapper, which currently ingests data from all drone systems. In 2015, DataMapper processed over a million acres and licensed over 200 analysis algorithms across industries from agriculture and insurance to energy and mining.
“At USAA, we’re constantly seeking ways to better serve our members, so we’re always on the lookout for innovative companies and emerging technologies,” said Nathan McKinley, head of USAA Corporate Development. “We’re excited to invest in PrecisionHawk because they lead the industry in developing unmanned aerial systems – a technology we feel can help rebuilding following catastrophes.”
“Adoption of UAV technology amongst major industries is growing at an incredible rate,” said Dave Famolari, director of Verizon Ventures. “I believe that PrecisionHawk’s high-resolution aerial data capture, analysis and storage platform can deliver unique insights and actionable data that can improve critical decision making across several industries.”
Source: PrecisionHawk
