Indoor inspection drones of Flybotix get a Tech Growth Loan
© 2021 EPFL
Founded in 2019, EPFL startup Flybotix develops a drone based on a proprietary propulsion and steering technology that brings disruptive changes to the market of indoor industrial inspection drones. The novel drone doubles the flight-time compared to competition and is quieter than a lawn mower. The Tech Growth loan of CHF 400’000 from FIT completes a fundraising round of one million Francs that Flybotix closed in March 2021.
Drones are more and more widely used to inspect hard-to-reach and dangerous areas, but many of them are either inaccessible to most drones due to their very limited flight time or necessitate lengthy inspections. This induces complicated, costly and risky tasks of maintenance in several industries. For example, in the Oil & Gas industry, a single day of shutdown costs several million dollars.
To improve working conditions, reduce shut-down costs and enable the inspection of narrow areas (long tunnels or high chimneys), Flybotix developed its own patented propulsion and steering drone technology. With a diameter of 390 mm and a weight of 1kg, the dual rotor drone “ASIO” doubles the flight-time compared to the competition, while producing half the noise: a product that combines the flight time of helicopters with the simplicity and reliability of drones. ASIO enables to save up to 40% of the shut-down costs.
Created in 2019, Flybotix was founded by two experts in drones and robotics. The CEO and co-founder, Dr. Samir Bouabdallah, benefits from over 15 years of experience in the field of drones and had previously founded another drone company that was acquired in 2015. The other founder is Alexandre Cherpillod, a robotics expert with extensive software and hardware expertise and work experience at SenseFly SA, the largest Swiss drone company. Since 2019, the founders have built a young, competent and ambitious team with complementary skills in the fields of business and technology. With their second round of financing in the amount of CHF 1.5 million in 2020, the team raised the necessary funds to finance the development of the product. Flybotix has gained the support of ESA BIC Switzerland, InnoSuisse and Venture Kick, and entered the Top 100 Swiss Startups.
With the new funds from the FIT Tech Growth loan and the recent CHF 1 million fundraising round closed in March, Flybotix wants to boost its presence on the market, build a distribution network, and keep working towards the industrialisation of its product and the growth of the company.
Contact
Samir Bouabdallah
CEO & co-founder
[email protected]