Israeli automated industrial and security drones developer Airobotics is taking advantage of the stock exchange tech boom to raise $50 million in an initial public offering (IPO) on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE) at a company valuation of about $180 million, before money, sources inform "Globes." The IPO, which is planned for May, will be led by Leumi Partners Underwriters.
Airobotics, which was founded in 2014 by CEO Ran Krauss and VP R&D Meir Kliner has already raised $120 million in financing rounds, the most recent of which was in October 2018. The money raised in the TASE IPO will be used for marketing and sales of the products developed, after most of the previous amounts raised were invested in R&D, leaving the company short of cash.
Previous investors include Waze CEO Noam Bardin, UpWest Labs, Temasek Singapore's Pavilion Capital, BlueRun Ventures, Microsoft investment arm M12, Intel Capital, OurCrowd, and Wolfpack.
Airobotics has developed a fully automated end-to-end drone solution, used for collecting data, surveillance and gaining aerial insights, controlling and checking industrial, infrastructure and military sights, patrolling borders and other strategic locations including mines, ports, gas and oil installations, and factories.
Airobotics drone system is made up off three parts: a large drone which can carry specially designed sensors or a camera; an automatic base station, which does not require human controllers, where the drone can land and recharge automatically; and control software allowing the management of missions according to the operator's needs.
Until 2018, the company operated only in Israel and Australia but it then opened offices in the US in Arizona, which has become its global headquarters. As part of the move abroad, "Globes" reported in early 2019 that Airobotics laid off 15% of its workforce in Israel.
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on January 25, 2021
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