Airware

Airware (incorporated as Unmanned Innovation, Inc.) was an American venture-funded startup that provided commercial unmanned aerial vehicles for enterprises.[1] The company ceased operations on September 14, 2018.[2]

Airware, Inc.
IndustryUAV Systems
Founded2011
HeadquartersSan Francisco, California
Key people
Jonathan Downey (Founder) Yvonne Wassenaar (CEO)
WebsiteAirware.com

Airware was founded in 2011 in Newport Beach, California, by Jonathan Downey. The company relocated to San Francisco in January 2014.[3]

The company produced 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.[4]

History

Airware was founded by Downey in 2011 out of a frustration with the "inflexible and costly" autopilot systems for unmanned aircraft.[5]

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.[6] 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.[7] Andreessen Horowitz partner Martin Casado, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers partner Mike Abbott, and John T. Chambers are members of the company's board.[8] In 2015, Airware launched a new venture fund for commercial drones to support "scaling the use of drones across a variety of commercial applications."[9][10] Airware purchased Redbird, a drone analytics software company, in 2016.[11] On September 14, 2018, Airware announced it was ceasing operations effective immediately.[2]

Products and services

Airware offered enterprise drone services combining hardware, on-aircraft and mobile software, and cloud services for industries like mining, insurance, and construction.[12] Airware offered 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.[13] Where most software is designed for specific models of drones, Airware was developing a platform that enables compatibility across aircraft.[14] The company previously collaborated with commercial drone manufacturers to integrate its autopilot hardware and software, then consulted directly with enterprise clients to identify solutions and to ensure regulatory compliance.[8][15][16]

References
  1. "Company". Airware Inc. Retrieved 2013-05-30.
  2. Constine, Josh (2018-09-14). "Drone startup Airware crashes, will shut down after burning $118M". TechCrunch.
  3. Sablan, Kevin (22 December 2013). "O.C. drone company moving to Bay Area". Orange County Register. Retrieved 2 April 2014.
  4. "Rhino-Saving Drones Give Surveillance a Kinder Look". Bloomberg Businessweek. 2013-06-28. Archived from the original on 2017-03-14.
  5. Simonite, Tom (2016). "Innovators Under 35: Jonathan Downey". MIT Technology Review.
  6. "Airware". Crunchbase. Retrieved 2016-04-07.
  7. Vanian, Jonathan (2016-03-31). "Cisco's John Chambers Just Invested In A Hot Drone Startup". Fortune.
  8. Mac, Ryan (2016-03-31). "Drone Startup Airware Raises $30 Million, Adds Cisco's John Chambers To Board". Forbes.
  9. Terdiman, Daniel (2015-05-27). "Drone OS Developer Airware Launches New Fund For Commercial Drones". Fast Company.
  10. Constine, Josh (2015-05-27). "Airware And DJI/Accel Launch Drone Investment Funds". TechCrunch.
  11. Haggin, Patience (2016-09-22). "Commercial Drone Startup Airware Buys Drone Analytics Software Redbrid". The Wall Street Journal.
  12. "Forty Under 40: Jonathan Downey, Airware". San Francisco Business Times. 2017-03-09.
  13. Jansen, Bart (2015-12-15). "Airware CEO is Small Business Innovator of the year". USA Today.
  14. Jansen, Bart (2015-07-27). "Airware Navigates future of drones". USA Today.
  15. Haggin, Patience (2016-10-24). "Drone Startups Pivoting to Enterprise Services". The Wall Street Journal.
  16. Haggin, Patience (2016-03-31). "Airware Takes Off With $30 Million for Commercial Drone Operating System". The Wall Street Journal.

Further reading
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