Dedrone closes $30mn financing: Police and critical infrastructure owners seek airspace security protection
San Francisco, UK. 13 July 2022 – Dedrone, a specialist in smart airspace security, has closed US$30 million (€29.93 million) in an oversubscribed Series C-1 financing round. Led by public safety technology company Axon, this latest funding comes on the heels of the company’s $30.5 million (€30.43 million) Series C in December 2021. Aqton Partners, Menlo Ventures, Felicis Ventures, Target Partners and individual Silicon Valley entrepreneurs also participated in the round.
Dedrone delivers a Command and Control solution for all Counter-Uncrewed Aircraft Systems (C-UAS) and will use the funding to continue to grow its team globally, including a second office in California, while also expanding its unique multi-sensor fusion airspace security solution. As part of its growth strategy, Dedrone is committed to engaging the engineering expertise of Silicon Valley to solve critical, national security issues.
Aaditya Devarakonda
“As more and more drones enter the skies, maintaining airspace security has become a vital function of national and local governments, law enforcement, critical infrastructure, public venues and much more. This fact is illustrated by the White House’s recent Domestic Counter-Unmanned Aircraft Systems National Action Plan to protect against nefarious drone activity,” says Aaditya Devarakonda, CEO of Dedrone. “This need to better secure airspace has been a driving factor in Dedrone’s exponential growth in 2022; we are on track to double our revenue projections for the year and triple new hires in the US, including building a focused engineering team in California. Now is the time to ensure we continue to deliver the most robust, accurate and technologically advanced airspace security solution to our customers around the world.”
Dedrone detects, identifies, locates, analyses and mitigates nearly 300 different drone types across more than 65 different manufacturers. Its flexible solution, which can operate cloud-based or on-prem/air-gapped, includes comprehensive AI/ML-based detection capabilities, fusion tracker software, sensors, mitigation functionality and advanced analytics. Dedrone recently launched its mobile solution, DedroneRapidResponse, which can be deployed in under 30 minutes to ensure uninterrupted airspace protection of outdoor events within a five-kilometer radius.
“Dedrone has long been a market leader and, over the last six months, commercial demand has accelerated to unprecedented levels,” adds Venky Ganesan, partner at Menlo Ventures. “Dedrone continues to deliver the kind of airspace security solutions that are most needed around the world today, which is why we continue to be a proud investor.”
Dedrone works across 36 countries including four of the G-7 nation governments; nine U.S. federal agencies, including the Department of Defense; more than 75 critical infrastructure sites; 20+ airports; and 50 correctional facilities worldwide. The company actively provides drone detection services for some of the most high-profile events around the world and works closely with more than 35 law enforcement agencies.
“Dedrone is accelerating the path towards making the world safer from unauthorised and malicious drones,” comments Henrik Kühl, SVP of Strategy and Corporate Development at Axon. “We performed extensive due diligence to evaluate multiple companies in this space. We were impressed by Dedrone’s technology, team and commercial traction.”
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