American Robotics owner Ondas finalizes Airobotics acquisition

Ondas Networks has had finalized agreements to purchase automated UAV systems company Airobotics in a deal that will pair the Israeli firm with American Robotics‘ groundbreaking beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) drone services to industrial and infrastructure clients.

Ondas announced the definitive conclusion of the deal this week, saying it will acquire the Israeli firm for approximately $15.2 million. That purchase will allow Ondas to pair Airobotics’ autonomous drone, data analysis, and visualization systems with those of inspection and surveying services provider American Robotics – a leader in the US with its Scout System platform.

Read: American Robotics CEO Reese Mozer calls 2022 an ‘inflection point’ in automated drone services 

Since integrating American Robotics into its primary private wireless focus, Ondas has made other acquisitions to compliment its automated drone offer, with Airobotics being the latest among those. Ondas CEO Eric Brock says all those moves have been aimed at strengthening and broadening the array of services proposed to clients by associating companies whose assets and activities complement one another.

“Airobotics brings Ondas incredible talent, along with the Optimus System, a proven, world-class automated drone platform, which is highly complementary to AR’s market-leading Scout System,” Brock said. “The combination of Airobotics with American Robotics is a seminal event in the drone sector, creating a leading global provider of commercial drone solutions capable of scaling for customers. We believe the UAS industry will consolidate as the market transitions from development to growth.”

The addition of Airobotics to the Ondas family should further provide American Robotics with the same kind of tech enhancements that allowed it to add artificial and loss of containment capacities to its Scout System last month. Back in April, the advancing effectiveness and security of its automated drone operations led the Federal Aviation Agency to grant the company seven new BVLOS permits in addition to the others it had previously obtained.

Read: FAA grants American Robotics BVLOS authorization at seven new sites 

The acquisition is also an opportunistic move by Ondas to bring aboard a company whose tech is considered promising, but whose growth and scaling have been dogged by strategic and financial troubles. 

Indeed, Airobotics went public on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange last summer in a $13 million flotation, lifting its total value to around $130 million. But even that was less than half of its $240 million valuation the previous year during initial fundraising efforts. And it makes Ondas’s $15.2 million acquisition price look like a bargain indeed.

Still, Airobotics CEO Meir Kliner believes its entry into the Ondas network will vastly broaden the potential clients and business potentials for its automated nested drone hardware by providing a conduit to customers of American Robotics services that Airobotics hasn’t developed.

“Combining with American Robotics offers massive benefits to our company and customers and will help accelerate our growth,” Kleiner says. “Airobotics has developed a strong customer pipeline and is now positioned to leverage our investments in technology and the hard work of our team for growth. We look forward to working closely with our colleagues at American Robotics to maximize the potential of our companies and deliver for customers.”