Anti-drone company receives $12 million in funding from TempoCap

San Francisco-based anti-drone technology startup Dedrone announced this week that it received $12.1 million in funding — this time in a funding round led by European technology investor TempoCap.

Dedrone said the TempoCap investment will be used to accelerate development of its namesake Dedrone platform, a system designed to provide early warning, classification of, and mitigation against drone threats. Dedrone’s combined hardware and software system can use radio sensors as well as special camera and radar systems to detect approaching drones, with the help of data processed by the company’s DroneTracker software.

Many people, both in the drone industry and outside of it, have been calling for more anti-drone technology after a number of high-profile incidents where drones have disrupted important operations. A viral video of a drone flying near a Frontier airline in Vegas from 2018 concerned drone pilots, who even called for the FAA to find the pilot and take action. Holiday travelers in the U.K. got hit hard in 2018 due to an unprecedented airport shutdown from suspicions that a rogue drone was flying near London’s Gatwick airport in the days ahead of Christmas, forcing planes to stay grounded or land at other airports. And just this summer, an Indians and Cubs Game was delayed after a drone was spotted flying over Wrigley Field.

Dedrone was founded in 2014 in San Francisco, and has grown to include operations in the Washington, D.C.-area, Columbus, Ohio, London and Germany. And the company already has a fairly strong presence in Europe. Dedrone’s CPNI-approved technology is installed in spots like the Newcastle International Airport, as well as other airports in the United Kingdom. 

This summer, Dedrone appointed Aaditya Devarakonda as the company’s new CEO. Devarakonda had already been a member of Dedrone’s advisory team as of 2019, before joining the company as President and Chief Business Officer earlier in 2020.

Within a few months, he was promoted to CEO, taking over the position from co-founder Joerg Lamprecht. Lamprecht now serves as Executive Chairman of Dedrone.

The global counter-UAS market is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 16.83% between 2019 to 2024. Other companies working on anti-drone tech besides Dedrone include DroneShield, plus major aviation players and defense contractors Raytheon, Boeing and Airbus.