Investors Drop $75M on Drone Technology

Goldman Sachs Research Drone Tech
Goldman Sachs Research Drone Tech
(Goldman Sachs Research)

Demand for drone technology is rising and large corporations have taken notice. Investors recently gave $75 million to PrecisionHawk Inc., a drone manufacturer, to support the growth of the drone industry.

Investors included Third Point Ventures, Comcast Ventures, Constellation Technology Ventures and Syngenta Ventures, all of which regularly invest in technology in industries like healthcare, media, energy and agriculture.

Many of the investors saw this as an opportunity to improve technology in an industry that was important to their consumers.

"Syngenta has been a PrecisionHawk customer since 2015 and has experienced first-hand the impact of the technology platform; both augmenting and replacing a variety of manual processes for more efficient and scalable operations," says Katrin Burt, Managing Director of Syngenta's venture capital group. "This investment reflects our commitment to advancing technologies that could have a real impact within agriculture.”

PrecisionHawk has expanded from agriculture into markets like insurance, construction, energy and government as the market for drone technology has developed.

Across industries, the drone technology sector is projected to grow, but according to Goldman Sachs Research, the fastest growing sector is businesses and civil governments. This sector is predicted to spend $13 billion on drones through 2020.

The $75 million that was recently invested brings the total investment in PrecisionHawk to $100 million. The drone company plans to use the money to hire new employees, further product innovation and make strategic purchases.

“With advanced sensors such as Light Detection and Ranging and the analytics to interpret their outputs, organizations are gaining unprecedented visibility into their work,” says Michael Chasen, PrecisionHawk CEO, “ultimately, making them more profitable and sustainable."

 

Latest News

Where Did All the Corn Acres and Principal Crop Acres Go? The Two Biggest Questions from USDA's Big Prospective Plantings Report
Where Did All the Corn Acres and Principal Crop Acres Go? The Two Biggest Questions from USDA's Big Prospective Plantings Report

USDA says farmers intend to plant 90 million acres of corn this year, which is lower than the trade expected prior to USDA's big Prospective Plantings report.

Vestaron and Simplot Announce Distribution Agreement
Vestaron and Simplot Announce Distribution Agreement

The distribution agreement focuses on Vestaron’s Spear Lep insecticide, which is a peptide-based control method meant to provide growers with a more environmentally friendly alternative to traditional chemicals.

The Scoop Podcast: How To Gear Up For Carbon And Sustainability Programs
The Scoop Podcast: How To Gear Up For Carbon And Sustainability Programs

Tim Hushon, sustainability and technology director at The Mill, details how sustainability factors into their ag retail business and how to partner with farmers on the technology adoption required.

Two Crop Protection Partners Divest Postharvest Solutions Company
Two Crop Protection Partners Divest Postharvest Solutions Company

Sumitomo Chemical and Valent BioSciences have announced Pace International will become part of AgroFresh Solutions.

The Untold Farmer Stories Of Ukraine: Q&A With Howard Buffett
The Untold Farmer Stories Of Ukraine: Q&A With Howard Buffett

Farmer and philanthropist Howard Buffett held a fireside chat during the 2024 Top Producer Summit to share his experiences visiting the front line of Ukraine over the past two years.

Get the Facts Straight on Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza
Get the Facts Straight on Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza

Now that the mystery illness impacting some dairy herds has been revealed as the same strain of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza that has been impacting the U.S. poultry flock, pork producers are asking questions.