Energize Ventures is excited to share a new milestone in our partnership with DroneDeploy, the leading enterprise-grade drone software solution. Energize participated via a follow-on investment in the company’s $35 million Series D fundraising round led by Bessemer Venture Partners. We’re joining the round alongside existing investors AirTree, Emergence Capital, Scale Venture Partners and Uncork Capital.
Rising Opportunity for Commercial Drone Software
Commercial drone adoption is on the rise, and our follow-on funding coincides with a period of rapid growth for DroneDeploy. The company recently announced its ‘Drone Cloud’ product suite enhancements, in addition to new partnerships with Airbus and drone hardware maker Skydio. The Energize team was fortunate to experience a taste of that momentum first-hand at DroneDeploy’s annual conference in October, which doubled in attendance from the prior year.
At the industry level, commercial drones are booming as enterprise use becomes more widespread. Businesses of various sizes and trades are looking to drone platforms to improve efficiency, accuracy and decision-making. The FAA predicts that this market will triple in size by 2023. As drone services and hardware continue to commoditize, there is increasing demand for cutting-edge, reliable technology to support them; Energize sees tremendous opportunity here for DroneDeploy. The company has earned its spot as the leading drone software solution, and their team has demonstrated they have what it takes to scale and meet the growing demands of the industry.
A World-Class Team
We continue to be impressed with DroneDeploy’s world-class founding and executive teams. Company leadership remains focused on customers while continuing to deliver industry-leading technology advancements. We’ve had the pleasure of working closely with co-founders Mike Winn, Nicholas Pilkington and Jono Millin over the last two years and are confident in their ability to drive value for the company with a balance of strong management, technical skills and SaaS expertise.
Potential for Expansion Across Industries — and Geographies
As part of the Series D capital infusion, our follow-on investment will help DroneDeploy expand internationally, increase industry reach and further build out its suite of offerings for customers.
While DroneDeploy’s software is currently used across a variety of industries including agriculture, energy and construction, Energize sees absolute potential to extend scope further. We’re particularly excited about the opportunity to increase efficiency, reliability and safety for energy and industrial companies.
The Energize team will continue to leverage commercial relationships to accelerate growth for DroneDeploy as we partner with them in pursuing automated drone use across every industry worldwide.
