Aerodome, a leader in Drone-As-First-Responder (DFR) technology, announced that the company has raised $21.5 million in Series A funding to continue building DFR solutions and build up its engineering and go-to-market teams. CRV led the funding round with participation from Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), Karman Ventures, Immad Akhund (CEO, Mercury), and Ford Street Ventures. The company also raised its seed round in October, led by a16z and 2048 Ventures. And this round brought the total funding to $28 million.
Founded by Aerodome CEO and reserve police officer Rahul Sidhu and Aerodome Chief Architect Kenaniah Cerny, the company is driving in a new era of DFR with a turnkey solution that is faster, safer, and more energy efficient than others on the market. And by providing a fully automated and remote air support operating system, Aerodome equips agencies with a highly advanced, 24/7 solution that reduces the need for patrol officers to respond to calls by 15 percent while offering 80 percent faster response times.
In about a year since the company’s founding, Aerodome has secured contracts with police departments, nearly doubling its earnings projections for Q1 of 2024. And Aerodome credis its rapid growth to its advanced DFR system that is fully remote and automated, multi-station, and multi-drone.
Agencies are utilizing the Aerodome DFR system to accomplish an average 86-second response time to 911 calls, compared to the average 7-8 minutes of many precincts reliant on traditional response measures alone. Plus, with an average of two deaths per year from aviation-related crashes, plus widespread pollution from helicopters, DFR continues to offer a safer, more environmentally conscious supplement to police helicopters.
Aerodome has also secured a new exclusive partnership with Hextronics (a world leader in enabling drone autonomy). And Hextronics is supplying a drone dock that is purpose-built for DFR with a rapid, automated battery-changing system, HVAC system, and the ability to operate remotely in any condition.
KEY QUOTES:
“Upon experiencing Aerodome’s technology firsthand on a fly-along, I immediately recognized its potential to have a scalable impact on public safety and its ability to save lives. Speed is of the essence in emergencies. Aerodome doesn’t just provide police agencies with ROI, it also gives them an insanely valuable source of real-time intelligence to first responders out in the field.”
— Saar Gur, General Partner, CRV and Aerodome’s newest board member
“As the second officer in the country to launch a DFR program, I wanted to build a more advanced, automated solution that would reduce the strain on officer resources. Our DFR 2.0 solution is a true force multiplier, since it only requires a single operator overseeing multiple drones at once. Our air traffic awareness system acts as a better observer than human pilots – capable of tracking planes, helicopters, other drones, and even birds in all directions, which saves precious time and resources for agencies.”
- Rahul Sidhu (also a former paramedic, crew chief, and pilot)
“Aerodome’s willingness to engage with our staff on the unique characteristics of our jurisdiction, and future directions with which to grow DFR capabilities, has led to high levels of confidence between our Department and their company. We were happy to partner with Aerodome. They did what they said they were going to do, and more.”
- Lieutenant Robert Mitchell at Hawthorne Police Department
