Airspace Link has positioned itself as a provider of important infrastructure in the burgeoning drone services space, allowing operators to get local and federal approval quickly. The company plans to take its platform to other countries that want to get their drones off the ground.
The main offering of the company is an online service that helps anyone working with drones to get FAA permission to fly. Even large companies with compliance teams would like it to be easier to manage this process, as it is particularly difficult for startup and individuals to manage.
Food delivery is one of the things that has been held back by this. Integration in the national infrastructure isn't there for drones. Operators are building their own systems to prove they have radar and surveillance systems, to calculate the likelihood of crashing on people, and to build a safety case for the FAA.
Airspace Link tracks ground-based infrastructure such as radar coverage, notable other flights and assets, and so on.
Healander said that they wanted to tell the operator that there was a crop duster coming into the area. Airspace Link is positioning itself as an infrastructure provider at the state and local level.
The Airspace Link platform is white-labeling by theMunicipalities. He said that the state is providing that service and that you are not proving your safety case to the FAA. If you want to do your own paperwork, you can, even though it is a convenience fee. Local governments are looking for a way to turn this into revenue.
We are enabling partners and technological advancement similar to how roads are used. He said that everybody would benefit from the advancement in the system.
As FAA regulations continue to tighten on drones, this will only increase, with fines starting a year later and a requirement that all drones broadcast their location. It is part of the reason why the company is raising money.
Michael Healander is the CEO of Airspace Link.
Over the next four years it is a little bit of a land grab. Healander said that they were trying to do it before people figured out how they were doing it. Rather than selling to individuals and companies, they should build themselves into the government's infrastructure.
Global expansion is the main reason we pulled the capital up. There are multiple countries that want things like this.
He suggested that the country of the U.S. could be an example, since it recently forbade all drone operations due to new policies. The easiest way to get these nations to explore the possibilities of drones is to get the FAA and Airspace Link.
Despite the demand they represent, it's not easy to adapt and localize a product to a place like Dubai.
Another category with an interest in easing red tape and quantifying risk was represented by the VC arm of CSAA Insurance Group. Airspace Link might be a requirement for insurance policies. The round included investments from a number of companies.
The company is hiring quickly and expects to grow even faster as it pursues the next phase of its ambitions. Healander said that they would have to build a global team if they went global.
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