Indiana-based PrecisionHawk, maker of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and cloud-based data collection software, has closed on a $10 million Series B startup funding round led by New York City-based investor Millennium Technology Value Partners with Bob Young, co-founder of RedHat, and The Innovate Indiana Fund. PrecisionHawk will double its workforce, open a new office and launch new software for civilian applications like farming in the near term.

Here’s a simplified example of how PrecisionHawk works:

  • OLD WAY: A farmer notices that some of his corn is stressed and likely needs more nitrogen. He applies nitrogen to the entire field.
  • PRECISIONHAWK WAY: A farmer deploys PrecisionHawk UAV to determine exactly which parts of his field require more nitrogen and he applies it to only those areas that need it saving him both time and resources.

 

 

from today’s PrecisionHawk press release

PrecisionHawk’s client base includes Fortune 500 companies that rely on technology for resource management across industries such as agriculture, insurance and energy, among others. Doing more with less used to be a catchphrase, but now it’s a requirement. There is immense pressure placed on development, food, health and infrastructure due to climate, increasing costs and overpopulation. The product closes the gap between aerial data collected with a UAV and the intensive data/image analysis that provides actionable information to end users. This funding will allow PrecisionHawk to scale to meet a growing demand for a aerial information pipeline that goes far beyond a UAV with a camera.

Plans post-funding:

  1. Double employee base to keep up with product demand (fixed wing UAV platform and 15 sensor types).
  2. Open its fourth office in College Station, TX in public partnership with Texas A&M. Focus on insurance and emergency response applications.
  3. Launch cloud-based platform, DataMapper, for processing, management and analytics. We have been using this platform with key clients and are ready to roll it out commercially at the end of September.

In addition to being founded in Indiana, PrecisionHawk will also be naming Indiana its “ag headquarters” as it continues to expand, because of the state’s strong leadership role in the agricultural industry and central location. A spokesperson also said PrecisionHawk is closely tied to three Indiana Universities — Indiana State University, Indiana University and Purdue University.

 

 

 

PrecisionHawkB