Airware, a US-based drone operating system developer backed by corporates Alphabet, Caterpillar, Intel, General Electric and Mitsubishi, has shut down, according to TechCrunch.
Founded in 2011, Airware had developed an operating system for commercial drones called the Aerial Information Platform that enabled enterprise clients in industries such as construction, mining and insurance to analyse aerial data.
The company eventually pivoted to building its own drones, but could not compete with more established players in that field, and finally tried to offer consultancy services on how companies could benefit from unnamed aerial vehicles.
The company operated its own corporate venture capital arm, Commercial Drone Fund, and had 140 employees at its peak, but began lay-offs two years ago.
The company had reportedly secured a total of $118m in funding. It raised investment from conglomerate Mitsubishi and opened a regional headquarter in Tokyo just four days before shutting down, though terms of that transaction have been removed from Airware’s website.
Caterpillar Ventures, the corporate venturing arm of construction equipment producer Caterpillar, injected an undisclosed sum in February 2017.
Next World Capital led a $30m series C round in April 2016, with contributions from fellow venture capital firms Andreessen Horowitz and Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers (KPCB), and John Chambers, the executive chairman of networking technology provider Cisco.
The round was extended to $39.1m the following month, according to a regulatory filing.
GV, the early-stage investment subsidiary of technology conglomerate Alphabet, first took part in a $3m seed round in March 2013, investing alongside First Round Capital, RRE Ventures, Firelake Capital, Shasta Ventures, Promous Ventures and Y Combinator.
Airware then raised $10.7m in a GV-backed round two months later before receiving $25m in a series B round featuring KPCB, Andreessen Horowitz and First Round in July 2014.
GE Ventures, the corporate venturing division of industrial group General Electric, invested an undisclosed amount in the company in November 2014 before chipmaker Intel did the same in April 2015 through investment subsidiary Intel Capital.