DroneDeploy Raises $50M, Expands Horizon

DroneDeploy Raises $50M, Expands Horizon

Today I am excited to announce that Energize co-led the latest growth round into DroneDeploy, alongside AirTree Ventures. This is the first announced investment from Energize Growth. A link to DroneDeploy’s press release can be found here. And a link to Energize’s announcement covering the deal can be found here. (VentureBeat here)

Energize first led the Series C for DroneDeploy in 2018. At the time I joined the Board of Directors alongside existing investors Jeff Clavier at Uncork Capital, Kevin Spain at Emergence Capital and Rory O’Driscoll at Scale Venture Partners. Katie McClain is a board observer and brings valuable energy, operating and policy insights to DroneDeploy. Back then Energize had conviction that drones and aerial analytics would dominate the enterprise level of energy and industry. That prediction was realized in a BIG way. So big, in fact that last year Invenergy used DroneDeploy to map the largest solar farm in the United States. DroneDeploy also has a number of utility customers that each manage hundreds of drone pilots through the platform. Amidst 2019’s growth, DroneDeploy also raised a Series D from Bessemer Venture Partners, and David Cowan joined the board. Tracy Young also joined the board and is a brilliant mind in the board room.

In addition to the continued expansion in energy, agriculture and construction… we are thrilled to see how DroneDeploy continues to be a product-led growth company. A few board meetings ago Mike Winn said “we will continue to invest in new products, because that is what our customer’s have grown to expect from DroneDeploy.”

That product-led growth mentality has led to impressive new product innovation in 2020:  360 Walkthrough and Vertical Flight. These are key features that enable visual data capture from cameras on the ground and drones flying vertically beside a structure or asset. DroneDeploy also continues to lead the industry in enterprise security, achieving both ISO-27001 certification and SOC 2 Type 1 attestation.

I’m thrilled to double down on the journey with DroneDeploy over the coming years. Energize will continue to provide our industry expertise, operator insights and team support to Mike and the DroneDeploy team.

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The headline and my quote is below.

DroneDeploy Secures $50M to Accelerate Development Beyond Drones and Solidify Global Market Leadership 

Energize Ventures and AirTree Lead the Latest Round to Grow into Europe

“The health, economic and workforce pressures of the last year have accelerated the adoption of drones and drone data by asset owners. We anticipate continued growth as industries expand their use of visual data to streamline operations. Energize is thrilled to continue to invest in DroneDeploy, the only company with a platform that captures and analyzes every dimension of job sites — interior and exterior, from any height and angle — and that has demonstrated the scale to meet the needs of fast-growing markets like energy and renewables.

John Tough, Managing Partner of Energize Ventures
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