If you’ve spent any time in Los Angeles, you no doubt know this police helicopters it is a permanent fixture in the heavens above. The LAPD has been monitoring the City of Angels since the mid-1990s. But in recent years, Los Angeles and other metropolitan areas have increasingly turned to drones as a significantly smaller and more effective alternative for first responders.
LA-based Aerodome sees big opportunities in the airspace above urban areas, including in its own backyard. The startup operates in the Drone-As-First-Responder (DFR) space. It’s exactly what it sounds like: using a UAV to get a first look at potential problem areas. This may include a crime in progress, a person in need of paramedics, or a raging fire.
As evidenced by the company’s website, the Aerodome prioritizes the police. Speaking to TechCrunch, co-founder and CEO Rahul Sidhu admits that fire departments can be slow to adopt new technologies. “It’s just a different culture,” the executive said. “There’s a lot of, ‘If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.’
Response time is Aerodome’s immediate value to potential customers. Sidhu says the average time a drone takes to reach a scene is 85 seconds — a big improvement over the five or 10 minutes experienced at many locations. It may not sound like much, but this is one of those situations where a few minutes could mean the difference between life and death.
Aerodome doesn’t make the drones themselves, at least not right now, Sidhu clarifies. Instead, it works with hardware manufacturers. In the wake of ongoing government scrutiny against DJI for alleged ties to the Chinese government, many jurisdictions are seeking to work exclusively with American manufacturers.
Sidhu admits, however, that DJI continues to be way ahead of the pack when it comes to some aspects of surveillance.
“I call it the license plate test,” he said. “If you fly a drone up to 400 feet, DJI—very consistently—can read a license plate. American drone companies will struggle at this distance.” Essentially, if the customer wants to use DJI drones, they will work with DJI drones.
Skydio, perhaps the best-known US drone manufacturer in the DFR space, declined to work with Aerodome, likely because it would prefer to compete directly with its own in-house offering. The category has become increasingly important for Skydio since it moved away from consumer drones, partly inspired by the addition of DJI to the state entity list.
The Aerodome’s system is activated by a 911 call. If it determines a drone is necessary, it can send one to the site in less than three minutes because of its decentralized launch facilities. However, Sidhu disputes the mention of “autonomy”.
“That implies some regulatory control when you say things are autonomous,” he said. “I would say they are ‘automated’. Here this means that the systems can be flown “automatically” from the launch pad to the stage. A human sits afloat, primarily in a supervisory role and as a fail-safe, taking control of the system if things get hairy. It’s something the FAA reasonably insists on.
The airport does not disclose the exact number of customers it currently works with. Sidhu says she works with four cities in Los Angeles County, with additional clients in the Bay Area, New Mexico and “other states.”
The company on Wednesday announced a $21.5 million series to expand its coverage. The round, led by CRV, brings its total funding to $28 million to date. Andreessen Horowitz, Karman Ventures, Immad Akhund (CEO, Mercury) and Ford Street Ventures also participated.
The money will also go towards expanding the Aerodome workforce, which currently employs around 30 people.
