Drone Startup XTEND Secures $30M in Additional Funding to Boost AI-Powered Robotics Production

Drone startup Xtend raises another $30M in funding - SiliconANGLE

Xtend Reality Inc., a startup focused on developing drone technology for the defense sector, has raised $30 million in funding. Aliya Capital Partners and Protego Ventures led the investment. It was provided as an extension to a $40 million Series B funding round that Xtend originally announced last May. The company's total outside funding now stands at $95 million. Founded in 2018, Xtend provides a software platform called XOS that militaries use to operate drones. It's designed to work with a virtual reality headset. Using the headset, the wearer can operate multiple drones at once and view footage from their cameras. XOS uses artificial intelligence to overlay additional data on the footage. It can, for example, highlight objects of interest in a drone video stream or collect coordinates. A dropdown menu automates tasks such as turning cameras on and off. XOS can work with both third-party drones and systems made by Xtend itself. The company's most advanced unmanned aircraft, Honey Badger, can cover more than four miles per fight at a speed of up to 44 miles per hour. It's equipped with zoom lens and four infrared sensors. Xtend also sells a number of smaller drones with different sensor arrays. The company's most compact system, the Extender, weighs under 3 pounds and has a top speed of 8 miles per hour. Xtend says that its drones are optimized to operate under challenging flight conditions. They feature protective elements designed to shield the propellers from damage. Additionally, the company's drones can wirelessly share data with one another using a mesh networking module Xtend will use its newly raised capital to grow its drone manufacturing capacity. Last month, the company inaugurated a new factory in Florida that will make unmanned aerial systems for the U.S. Defense Department. Down the road, Xtend will upgrade the facility to make upstream drone components such as communication modules and motors. After its Series B round's first close last year, the company disclosed that it had won more than $50 million worth of contracts. Xtend's customer base includes more than 50 organizations in the U.S., Israel, Singapore and Europe. The company says that those customers have deployed thousands of its systems to date.

XTEND Secures Another $30 Million to Expand Production of AI-Powered Robots | PYMNTS.com

By completing this form, you agree to receive marketing communications from PYMNTS and to the sharing of your information with our sponsor, if applicable, in accordance with our Privacy Policy and Terms and Conditions. The company also aims to expand the use of these robots in security, humanitarian and emergency response efforts, it said in a Tuesday (July 15) press release. "The successful completion of our Series B financing highlights the surging demand for mission-critical autonomous systems from allied defense and public safety agencies," XTEND CEO Aviv Shapira said in the release. "The investment will fuel accelerated R&D, scale manufacturing and global deployment expansion." XTEND opened a new U.S. headquarters and drone manufacturing facility in Tampa, Florida, on July 1, according to the release. Lee Moser, co-founder and general partner of Protego Ventures, which co-led the extension, said in the release that the new facility "represents more than a physical expansion -- it marks a new phase of operational scale, U.S. engagement and global relevance." Ross Kestin, founding partner and CEO of Aliya Capital Partners, which co-led the extension, has joined XTEND's board of directors. "XTEND's mission -- to deliver cutting-edge drone and robotics systems for high-risk, mission-critical environments -- aligns directly with our vision of supporting technologies that protect and enhance life," Kestin said in the release. XTEND Co-founder and CXO Matteo Shapira told PYMNTS in April 2024 that the company is building an operating system that lets robots handle specific tasks autonomously -- entering buildings, scanning floors or even pursuing suspects. However, "common sense" decisions like judging situations or adapting to unforeseen circumstances remain in the hands of human supervisors, Shapira said. "This human-machine teaming, or 'Practical Human Supervised Autonomy,' allows our robots to work alongside supervisors, who can manage dozens of robots simultaneously," Shapira said. "It's a powerful fusion that unlocks real-world solutions." In another recent development in this space, robotics startup Genesis AI emerged from stealth with $105 million in seed funding on July 2, saying it aims to create a general-purpose AI model that will allow robots to automate a range of repetitive tasks.