Slingshot Aerospace is a company using geospatial data from satellites, aircrafts and drones for situational awareness. This means it can be put to use in disaster response, military defense or various commercial uses. To get a hint of how this technology could be applied, look no further than the company’s most recent round of funding.
Slingshot Aerospace just announced that it was awarded $1.5 million in a contract from the U.S. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center. This contract is part of the AFLCMC’s Small Business Innovation Research initiative, which helps fund R&D for new projects by American businesses.
In response to this contract, the company’s VC backers ATX Ventures Partners and Revolution’s Rise of the Rest Seed Fund matched the investment with an additional $1.5 million. This new money is part of the U.S. Department of Defense’s RAPID Innovation Fund for promising military technologies.
Combined, this brings $3 million in new funding to the company. The funding will help it develop Slingshot EDGE, its new AI-powered platform for small unmanned aircraft systems. The platform can scan areas using drones and AI, and help raise a flag if something is spotted. Its goal is to save personnel time and effort, in what otherwise would be a manual process.
“This partnership is a groundbreaking testament to the power of government working with technical and financial innovators,” Melanie Stricklan, CSO and co-founder of Slingshot Aerospace, said in a statement. “This award will undoubtedly accelerate real-time situational awareness on the battlefield and provide a unique opportunity for us to take a validated product that provides decision advantage to entirely new markets.”
The company is based in El Segundo, California, and Austin, Texas.
