Blackbird Ventures and Silicon Valley-based Costanoa Ventures have led a $US15 million ($22 million) funding round for drone surveying technology company Propeller.
The round has been supported by Aware Super and individual investors including Aconex co-founder Leigh Jasper and Canva co-founder Cliff Obrecht.
Surry Hills, Sydney, based Propeller in June last year announced a key deal under which its software was to be used in conjunction with an advanced surveying drone, Quantum Systems’ Trinity F90+. Designed and built in Germany, the F90+ drone can fly for about 90 minutes, well beyond the industry standard of 60 minutes. This enables more efficient surveying of large earthworks, a leading use of the technology.
Image: Propeller chief executive Rory San Miguel.
Propeller says its simple yet powerful end-to-end technology unlocks 3D visualisation survey insights that can be shared across an entire construction project. Customers can capture accurate surveys of their worksites so they can measure and track progress and make better decisions around site management.
Propeller has experienced steady growth in demand for its technology since it launched in 2014 but this has ramped up more recently, especially in the US where the company has a base in Denver Colorado. Globally, Propeller now employs around 200 people.
Propeller was founded by chief executive Rory San Miguel and Francis Vierboom who has since left the business. They combined their drone operations and enterprise IT expertise to utilise drones to develop more efficient and safer ways of surveying civil construction and earthworks projects.
San Miguel said the new capital would be used to expand the team and further improve its technology adding new features.