Thursday, February 23, 2017

Microsoft invests in Airspace management platform company AirMap

AirMap is the world's leading airspace management platform for drones, supporting more than 100,000 drone flights per day. Hundreds of drone manufacturers and developers use AirMap's airspace intelligence and services to fly safely and communicate with others in low-altitude airspace. They offer solutions for Unmanned Traffic Management, geofencing, remote identification, deconfliction, and more.

AirMap today announced that they have raised the Series B round with investments from Microsoft Ventures and others. Microsoft's investment in AirMap aligns with the company's ambition to power a safe drone ecosystem. Microsoft Research last week announced a new platform to help developers easily build autonomous and robotic systems. Their new Aerial Informatics and Robotics platform provide realistic simulation and tools for designers and developers to seamlessly generate the large amounts of training data they need.

AirMap's $26 million Series B round brings AirMap's total investment to more than $43 million.

Our Series B round marks the beginning of the next chapter for AirMap. We're looking forward to quickly bringing AirMap's airspace management platform and solutions for cybersecurity, geofencing, Unmanned aircraft Traffic Management (UTM), and more to new markets worldwide. As we expand globally, we're opening offices in Berlin, Germany, and at the NASA Ames Research Center in Mountain View, California. Our team, our platform, and our community of partners will continue to grow.

"The strategic partners participating in our Series B financing reflect the diversity of the drone ecosystem and the potential of drones to benefit every sector of our economy," said AirMap CEO Ben Marcus, who also serves as the industry co-chair for the FAA/industry Unmanned Aircraft Safety Team. "Very soon, millions of drones will fly billions of flights. This is a future that depends on safe, autonomous drone operations at scale. AirMap's technology will make this future possible, allowing the drones of today, and the autonomous drones of tomorrow, to take flight."

"AirMap is a leader in low-altitude airspace management, and will play a pivotal role in shaping the future of the drone industry," said Nagraj Kashyap, corporate vice president, Microsoft Ventures. "We're excited to support their growth and, by extension, the growth of commercial and recreational applications for both piloted and autonomous drones. We believe that by investing in companies like AirMap, Microsoft's resources, platforms and AI technologies can help fuel the future of the drone ecosystem."

Learn more about AirMap here.



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