Decisive Point invest in Asylon to increase production of security and defense drones
Venture capital firm Decisive Point announced Wednesday an investment in Asylon, Inc., a manufacturer of infrastructure and software for the deployment and operation of autonomous surveillance and defense systems.
Decisive Point is a venture capital firm focused on technology for government, public safety, and defense. The amount of the investment was not disclosed.
Philadelphia based Asylon designs and manufactures the DroneCore System, an open architecture platform that manages unmanned ground and aerial robotics to autonomously execute pre-programmed patrol missions and provide superior security data intelligence. Parts of the system use AI machine learning.
Damon Hamon, CEO and co-founder of ASYLON, said, “Decisive Point has been a key partner of ours for developing and landing our early government contracts. They have been instrumental in our contracting process and helped enable sustainable long-term growth.”
“Becoming one of the first investments in their new fund is an honor and helps us continue to forge a common mission of integrating dual-use technology like security, robotics, and automation,” Hamon added.
Asylon’s rapid growth has been fueled by adoption in both the commercial and federal market. The company’s DroneCore product is considered “technically mature,” with sales to the defense sector and to a number of Fortune 100 customers. The company is currently working with the Air Force on the modernization of base security systems and remote surveillance.
Decisive Point Partner, Thomas Hendrix, noted, “Asylon has created an innovative solution, allowing unmanned systems to operate with true autonomy and minimal human intervention for weeks or months at a time.”
He added, “We see great potential in their solution and talented team, both in commercial markets and in providing essential security solutions for the DoD.”
Decisive Point is New York-based.
Last spring Asylon was awarded a contract from the United States Air Force Research Lab to provide the future of persistent Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR), inspection and perimeter security.
The contract included exploring the ability to use available water-based resources in the mission operating environment to generate power and recharge air and ground autonomous platforms, so they remain operational longer at the point of need.
According to a recent report from analytical company ResearchandMarkets there are only a handful of companies that currently account for nearly 70 percent of the market, but this percentage is likely to decline with several new entrants planning to bring solutions to the market in 2021.
The drone-in-a-box (DIB) market is nascent but will be rapidly transitioning to a growth market. While growth in this market is being driven by the demand for autonomous drones, regulatory restrictions that require pilots to maintain visual contact while operating commercial drones continue to pose the most significant roadblock.
However, technological advances and demonstrations of safe operations are leading aviation authorities to permit waivers on a wider basis. More than 30 companies globally are marketing or developing DIB solutions, but fewer than half have deployed solutions to clients.
About ASYLON
The company manufactures & deploys the DroneCore System as an end-to-end white glove service for advanced perimeter security. DroneCore is a combination of hardware and software designed to streamline security efficiency, conduct automated operations, and gather vital real-time intelligence. The system is fully automated drone platform operating as a robotic, aerial and ground guard to serve as a primary perimeter security deterrent and first responder.