Despite Promising Start, Drone Darling Doesn’t Make the Cut

PrecisionHawk is in pretty bad shape, despite a recent purchase by Euro company Field Group, to the point they have filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy.

The firm is apparently $17 million in debt, with about a quarter million in overdue rent for its Glenwood, North Carolina headquarters. It's an unfortunate situation for a company that has been trying to keep drone IP on American shores. The start-up was once a star on the rise, thanks to former Red Hat CEO Bob Young at the helm. Field Group will probably shutter the NC headquarters and roll things up stateside, keeping valuable resources in healthier portions of the company abroad.

The situation was the subject of an announcement from PrecisionHawk's interim CEO Krister Pederson.

“We knew it would be a challenge to make PrecisionHawk profitable in the short term. Despite our best efforts, we couldn’t turn it around in time, and we have had to close the office. It wasn’t an easy decision, but it was a necessary one."

The firm's roster of drone services centered around utilities, telecomms, solar, and petroleum support, inspection, and survey. PrecisionHawk's software solutions also allowed operators to automate flights and collate all pertinent data for review and efficiency. The company also provided the "Drone Pilot Network", a service that "gives independent drone operators in the US access to flight servicing opportunities from leading enterprises." The Network sounded promising, to an extent. Pilots with their Part 107 drone certs could be approved by PrecisionHawk, and bid on missions/jobs and give quotes to interested clients through the site itself.

FMI: https://www.precisionhawk.com/