Airobotics, the Israel and Australian-based industrial drone company that was named by Fast Company earlier this year as one of the top innovative drone companies of 2018, has done it again: they have now been listed as one of the top tech companies to watch by the Wall Street Journal.
The list, which this year has been dominated by AI, blockchain and cybersecurity startups, honours companies that show potential to become leaders in some of the world’s most emerging and disruptive technologies.
Airobotic’s inclusion on the list comes after a year and a half of growth and funding that has seen the company achieve world first milestones and expansion in several countries across the globe.
In addition to raising $US71 million to date and tripling staff numbers to 250 employees, the company was the first to be granted worldwide authorisation to fly fully automated pilotless drones by the Civil Aviation Authority of Israel.
Being listed by Fast Company and the Wall Street Journal are not the first accolades the company has received either.
In April 2017, they were recognised by the esteemed Edison Awards when they were voted a Bronze Winner for innovation.
They were then awarded by Frost & Sullivan with their annual global New Product Innovation Award.
“The Airobotics system is a unique drone platform that is completely automated from end to end: launching, gathering data, payload and battery switching, and docking,” said Arjun Mehta, Research Analyst at Frost & Sullivan.
A year later in what seems a trend in cutting edge startup companies, they added top executive Richard Wooldridge, formerly of Google and Facebook, to their team.
More recently, Airobotics have made headway into the surveying, mapping and mining industries.
In Chile, they signed a deal with engineering company RockBlast to use their self-charging automated drone solution in hazardous and remote sites for a range of applications from asset management and scheduling to emergency response to inspection.
They have also partnered with Israel’s top construction and civil engineering venture Shapir-Ashtrom which is overseeing the construction of a new gulf port in Haifa, Israel, which is reportedly being built at a cost of $US1 billion.
Ran Krauss, CEO and Co-Founder of Airobotic, says they are honoured by the recognition by the Wall Street Journal.
“Our team works incredibly hard to provide mining companies, seaports, and other clients with a solution that increases productivity and safety and decreases operational costs. We are committed to pushing boundaries in the industries we serve and we’re looking forward to growing our company, especially in the area of smart cities, over the next few years,” he said.
This last feather in the hat for Airobotics is surely just one more step towards what has the potential to become an industry standard for industrial facilities operating in complex, difficult environments.
View their achievements for 2017 here: