Had Raised $118 Million In Funding, But Failed Trying To Make Its Own Aircraft

A startup company that created drone operating systems has folded up its tent despite a fundraising effort that saw $118 million in investments from some of the major players in the industry.

Airware announced the closure in a message on its website. "History has taught us how hard it can be to call the timing of a market transition. We have seen this play out first hand in the commercial drone marketplace. We were the pioneers in this market and one of the first to see the power drones could have in the commercial sector. Unfortunately, the market took longer to mature than we expected. As we worked through the various required pivots to position ourselves for long term success, we ran out of financial runway. As a result, it is with a heavy heart that we notified our team, customers, and partners that we will wind down the business," the message reads.

"This is not the business outcome we had worked so hard for over the years and yet we are deeply proud of our company’s accomplishments and our leadership in driving the adoption of drone powered analytics to improve productivity, mitigate risks, and take workers out of harm’s way.  

"As we close the book of Airware; we want to thank the partners and customers who believed in us and helped us along the way. And, while it is difficult to say goodbye to our team, we want to thank them for all they have contributed to Airware and the industry. We look forward to seeing how they will take their learnings from Airware to fuel continued innovations in the world around us."

Techcrunch reports that the company was working to develop its own hardware, but could not compete with industry giants like DJI. It was also hurt by a maturing market that saw OEM software shipped with aircraft that was comparable to the Airware product.

Airware had opened a Tokyo headquarters in conjunction with an investment and partnership with Mitsubishi just four days before announcing the company no longer existed.

(Image from file)

FMI: Source report, www.airware.com/en/blog/thank-you-farewell