Measure raises $15 million to fly drones as a service for other companies. Measure CEO and cofounder Brandon Torres Declet said, “Over the past 2 years there has been something like $750 million invested into this space. The vast majority went to hardware and software. So we focus on giving you ROI, not just selling you hardware or a software license.” The IT services firm Cognizant led the investment in Measure, joined by Hudson Bay Capital, as well as one unnamed sovereign wealth fund. By now, Measure has amassed a diverse fleet and employs 20 full-time pilots, alongside flight operations, data engineering and drone engineering specialists. It also uses software like Skyward and DroneDeploy for flight management and data processing, among others. Since Measure was founded in 2014, Torres Declect said, the company has secured drones and sent pilots to do jobs like: inspecting cell towers for Verizon (the parent company of TechCrunch); gathering aerial footage in the aftermath of natural disasters for major networks including ABC, Fox News and CNN; and conducting site audits for huge construction and engineering companies. Last year, Measure also quietly worked on delivering consumable items by drone on behalf of an unspecified client, in partnership with the Lone Star UAS Center of Excellence and Innovation in Texas. Measure’s CEO declined to discuss those initiatives, or divulge the name of a retailer or other client involved. “They already have a great pilot network, reach and business model.
Measure may not be building the ultimate flying camera, or drones that drop burritos at your door. But the Washington D.C.-based startup has raised $15 million in a Series B round of funding to fly drones as a service for other businesses that want to do things like conduct inspections, capture videos, or gather other insights from on high.
Measure CEO and cofounder Brandon Torres Declet said, “Over the past 2 years there has been something like $750 million invested into this space. The vast majority went to hardware and software. But flying a drone isn’t intuitive. And getting quality data is difficult. So we focus on giving you ROI, not just selling you hardware or a software license.”
The IT services firm Cognizant led the investment in Measure, joined by Hudson Bay Capital, as well as one unnamed sovereign wealth fund. According to Torres Declet, the company will use the capital for hiring, to expand into new markets geographically, and to develop new capabilities taking advantage of cutting edge new drones, sensors, cameras and software hitting the market.
By now, Measure has amassed a diverse fleet and employs 20 full-time pilots, alongside flight operations, data engineering and drone engineering specialists. The drones it uses included both fixed-wing and multirotor models made by Aerialtronics, Aibotix, DJI and Sensefly. It also uses software like Skyward and DroneDeploy for flight management and data processing, among others. The company is always evaluating new hardware and apps in the space, of course.
Since Measure was founded in 2014, Torres Declect said, the company has…
COMMENTS