Hangar Raises $6.5M Seed Round To Build Automated Technology Ecosystem for Drones
Austin, TX (PRWEB) October 20, 2016 -- Hangar, a software company specializing in autonomous data capture using drone technology, announced a $6.5 million Seed financing led by Lux Capital. Hangar will provide high-quality aerial data across multiple industries more consistently and affordably than ever before, utilizing a combination of advanced software and drone technology. This announcement comes immediately following the launch of the new Part 107 regulation for commercial drone use in the U.S., dramatically lowering the barrier for businesses to adopt aerial technology.
Hangar was founded by Colin Guinn, former CRO of 3D Robotics (3DR) and CEO of DJI North America, and Jeffrey DeCoux, founder and CEO of eCustomers and SMART technologies. Colin is known for bringing the DJI Phantom drone to mass-retail, and for inventing and launching Solo: The Smart Drone with 3DR. He was the first person to fly a drone in Congress and has become synonymous with drones in worldwide media. Jeff brings an enterprise software and SaaS background, as well as experience in many successful startups. Their combined experience in aerial technology and enterprise software will help deliver valuable data services for the drone industry, which has to date been the realm of niche hardware and software applications,
“We’ve spent the last six years deeply involved in the major transformative hardware innovations of the consumer and professional drone industry, and it’s exciting to take the opportunities we’ve seen for the future and form a company with an entirely new vision for the industry,” says Colin Guinn, President of Hangar. “I’ve watched drone technology advance at a breakneck pace like no other product before it. These consumer-friendly products now have multiple computers, an autopilot, 4k cameras, long-range video links, sensors and more and only costs $500-$999. Harnessing that technology is an unparalleled opportunity across industry. ‘Consumer’ drones have become so advanced that no human can fully maximize and capitalize on their capabilities – it’s time for software to automate and optimize data capture from these devices.”
The $6.5 million round was led by deep technology investor Lux Capital, which counts a number of well-known companies in satellite, drone and robotics technology in its portfolio that complement Hangar. Bilal Zuberi, partner at Lux Capital, will join Hangar's Board of Directors as a part of this financing. "We are proud to back Colin, Jeff and the Hangar team to enable drones to become a critical and important part of practically every major industry,” says Zuberi. “This team successfully brought the consumer drone revolution upon us, and are now doing the same for the commercial drone space.” Fontinalis Partners, which specializes in investing in technologies related to next-generation mobility, also participated in the round, along with Haystack Partners and several prominent angel investors.
“We are building a sophisticated software technology platform for commercial drone use across industries that is currently in beta and rapidly developing every day,” says CEO Jeff DeCoux. “We will be expanding our development team and integrating industry-specific technologies to deliver more value for our customers. Hangar will build upon the consumer drone revolution that Colin helped to create, forging a new path by integrating contemporary technologies such as machine learning and computer vision. Our vision is to make drones into invaluable business tools by leveraging large and unique data sets.”
In addition to announcing the financing, Hangar invites DJI, 3DR and Yuneec drone owners to sign up for Hangar’s private beta at http://www.hangar.com/beta, available to select users today and expected to open to the broader community later in 2016.
As Colin recently shared in an email to his drone enthusiast subscribers: “Over the next 12 months we’ll be introducing the world to Hangar. The time has come for aerial innovators, both individual and corporate, to work together to show that these technologies are more than just consumer gadgets, but transformative providers of data on a level the world has never experienced. Stay tuned.”
Hangar is based in Austin, TX, a technology hotbed for startups. The city is an international leader in drone technology, serving as the headquarter for multiple drone software and services companies. Hangar is aggressively hiring for exceptional team members in its Austin-HQ here.
About Hangar
Hangar is a software technology company focused on harnessing the opportunity presented by the mass-adoption of drone hardware and the market demand for the data these drones can provide. Hangar integrates cutting-edge technology with existing drones to provide solutions across multiple industries.
About Lux Capital
Lux Capital is a venture firm based in New York City and Silicon Valley investing in counter-conventional, seed and early stage science and technology ventures. The firm manages $700 million in assets across four funds. For more information, please visit http://www.luxcapital.com or @Lux_Capital.
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Oren Schauble, Hangar, http://www.hangar.com, +1 5122227143, [email protected]
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