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Michigan’s SkySpecs gets $80M funding to expand drone software offerings

SkySpecs, a Michigan-based company whose drone software is used to monitor about 45% of all wind turbine blades in North America, has scooped up a cool $80 million in strategic funding to grow its product portfolio as well as geographic footprint. The funding round was led by Goldman Sachs with participation from NextEra Energy Resources and existing investors.

SkySpecs provides wind farms with valuable data on the health of their wind turbine blades through autonomous drone inspections. In addition, the company leverages AI-based fault detection technology and diagnostic solutions to enable early and robust fault detection so customers can maximize uptime and asset lifetime. Overall, SkySpecs manages approximately 118 gigawatts of renewable energy assets across over 30 countries.

Also read: Plug-and-play solution enables most DJI drones to perform wind farm inspection

Stressing that renewable energy is fast becoming a viable, attractive, and profitable energy source, Danny Ellis, CEO of SkySpecs, says:

In order to scale fast enough to meet the demand, the market needs experts and solutions to help them navigate the complexities of managing their assets. We’ve developed a solution set that enables companies to manage and optimize their assets from the planning phase right through the full asset lifecycle, including predicting future failures, and prioritizing repairs in order to optimize their maintenance budget.

Ellis says the new funding will help SkySpecs accelerate the expansion of its software offerings as well as grow its geographic footprint in order to advance its mission to optimize renewable performance and help displace fossil fuel generation. And it’s a mission that Vikas Agrawal, managing director of Goldman Sachs Asset Management, reckons with. Here’s Agrawal:

SkySpecs has a leading market position providing high ROI preventative maintenance and software solutions to the world’s largest renewable asset owners, along with extensive data and know-how. We’re excited to invest in SkySpecs’ vision to accelerate the expansion of capabilities that will increase the performance and longevity of renewable resources, reduce operating costs, and simplify asset ownership.

Read more: Aloft launches new tool to connect FAA airspace with local drone rules

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Avatar for Ishveena Singh Ishveena Singh

Ishveena Singh is a versatile journalist and writer with a passion for drones and location technologies. She has been named as one of the 50 Rising Stars of the geospatial industry for the year 2021 by Geospatial World magazine.