AirMap to Raise Capital to Fund Drones R&D
AirMap,
world's leading supplier of software for air traffic management of drones, is
about to raise USD26 million from an investment arm of Microsoft
United
States: AirMap,
which was founded two years ago, is raising USD26 million for financing the
research & development of drones by the capital investment arm of Microsoft
in United States. Besides Microsoft, other venture capitalists investing in AirMap
include the business unit of Airbus, Qualcomm (QCOM), Japan based Rakuten &
Sony as well as the Chinese drone manufacturer, Yuneec.
The heavy investment by the
prominent companies in the technology of AirMap would allow the company to spread
its reach in international markets. With an employee count of 50 people, the
company has its head office in Santa Monica, California, whereas, is opening
new offices in Berlin and the NASA Ames Research Center in Silicon Valley,
United States.
AirMap has designed a
software which operates on autonomous and piloted drones used largely for recreational
as well as commercial purposes. The company is directing 80 per cent of traffic
management services for all drones, real-time, including robotic aircraft. The traffic
handling by AirMap allows various companies to fly drones safely at low
altitudes with the share information.
"This round is all about
finding a set of partners to help us globalize," AirMap Chief Executive
Ben Marcus said in an interview.
Currently, in United States,
over 125 airports are using the management dashboard by AirMap for drones to
fly, to track flights, supervise digital flight notices and communicate with
operators.
As per TechSci Research, the continuous
investment in the new drone technology by the leading firms would further
assist the drone market to progress at a global scale by increasing consumer
awareness and safety measures related to the device’s usage, thereby, enhancing
the overall market of drones at a worldwide level.
According to a recent report published by TechSci Research, “Global
Commercial Drone Market By Drone Type, By Application, By Region, Competition
Forecast and Opportunities, 2015-2021”, over
the next decade, rapidly evolving drone technology is expected to transform the
conventional way of doing business in various sectors. Evolving regulatory
policy framework, increasing commercial applications of drones across various
end-use sectors, coupled with advancements in drone technologies are projected
to propel growth in global commercial drone market in the ensuing years. Over
the last five years, drones were being mainly used in the defense sector across
various countries. However, various advantages such as time reduction, easy
manoeuvrability and ability to trim down operational costs is increasing usage
of commercial drones in diverse application areas such as precision
agriculture, mapping, photography, surveying, media and entertainment, law
enforcement & public safety, and inspection/monitoring in energy, mining
and infrastructure sectors.