Indiana Fund Part of Drone Investment
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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowNorth Carolina-based PrecisionHawk Inc., which has a presence in Noblesville and Terre Haute, has announced an $18 million round of funding. Investors in the unmanned aerial vehicle technology company include the Innovate Indiana Fund, located in Indianapolis.
The fund is managed by the Indiana University Research and Technology Corp. and provides early-stage capital to IU-connected companies.
Since the company’s founding in 2010, it has received a total of $30 million in investment. PrecisionHawk will use the Series C infusion on its data analysis platform and low-altitude flight safety system. Funding partners this time include Verizon Ventures, NTT Docomo Ventures, Yamaha Motor, a subsidiary of USAA, the Innovate Indiana Fund, Intel Capital and Millennium Technology Value Partners.
As a result of the investment, PrecisionHawk will expand the uses of its DataMapper platform into satellites and manned aircraft. The technology processes, manages and analyzes aerial data. It will also launch development and commercialization of its Low Altitude Tracking and Airspace Safety system for safely integrating drones into regulated airspace.
Innovate Indiana Fund Managing Director Ken Green, who is also a director for PrecisionHawk, says "since the start of our investments in PrecisionHawk, we have watched this company literally shape a new industry. Its innovative technology is being applied in many ways, as demonstrated through the companies coming on board." The fund led the company’s Series A, $1 million round.
PrecisionHawk says many of its 100 current employees are graduates of institutions in the state, including IU, IUPUI, Indiana State University and Purdue University. At least 10 are based in Terre Haute.
The technology is developed for uses in agriculture, insurance, public safety and other applications.