Nearly a decade ago, brothers Aviv and Mateo Shapira co-founded Replay, the company that created the video format for 360-degree replays, the type of replay that has become part of major sports broadcasts.
Replay came to the attention of Intel, which reportedly acquired the company for $175 million in 2016, and Aviv and Matteo had a chance encounter with Rubi Riani, founder of Israel's Official Drone Racing League (FRIL). I was guided by this encounter.
Riani got the brothers interested in drone racing, and planted the seed of the idea for their next startup, Extend, which he helped found.
“As founders, we saw an opportunity to bridge the gap between experiences,” Aviv told TechCrunch. “We recognized the exceptional skills required to control advanced robots, especially drones. Our vision is to create a technology similar to how users operate smartphones without requiring deep technical knowledge. , our goal was to develop technology that would make the control of these robots intuitive and accessible.”
Xtend provides a platform that allows operators to manage drones and robots developed in-house by both Xtend and third-party vendors. Xtend's platform allows an operator to directly control a drone or robot (optionally using his VR headset) or train an AI model to identify objects and help navigate indoor/outdoor environments. can be deployed to a drone. Today, the company announced a $40 million funding round led by Chartered Group, with a post-money valuation of approximately $110 million.
“Our platform enables drones and robots to handle certain tasks autonomously, such as building entry and floor scanning,” Aviv said. “Importantly, 'common sense' decisions such as assessing situations and adapting to unexpected situations can be left in the hands of human supervisors.”
Xtend allows operators to create teams of drones and robots, as well as individual machines, to perform specific tasks autonomously, such as moving from waypoint to waypoint. Meanwhile, Xtend analyzes data from past deployments and recommends actions that operators may take.
Extended Wolverine Drone.
“Xos allows one supervisor to supervise a team of robots performing tasks at the same time in different locations,” said Aviv. “We believe that full autonomy is not the ultimate goal, but rather a subset of functionality.”
Xtend markets its technology as general-purpose and targets customers in industries ranging from public safety to logistics. However, the company leans heavily toward military, defense, and law enforcement applications.
Extend has contracts with the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and the U.S. Department of Defense to “develop and deliver systems,” including an unmanned aerial vehicle interception system, for “operational evaluation.” It also includes a $9 million contract with the War Office. And Mr. Aviv is not shy about his company's ambitions to expand into what he calls “new private market opportunities,” such as private and public security.
“Imagine a police officer coordinating a drone to search a large area for a suspect,” Aviv said. “Xos can enable these professionals to take advantage of robotic assistance.”
This could be problematic, given that there are still few regulations in place for their use by law enforcement, and drones have been used to monitor legal demonstrations. For example, in 2020, Congressional Democrats raised the alarm that then-President Donald Trump's administration had used drones and surveillance planes to monitor demonstrations in Las Vegas, Minneapolis, and Washington, D.C., according to Al Jazeera.
Additionally, Xtend has recently attracted the attention of international monitors.
Analysis by Statewatch and the Informationstelle Militarisierung (IMI) found that Extend, among other Israeli military companies and institutions involved in drone deployment, was banned from funding military and defense projects by the EU. It was discovered that the company had received research and development grants from the EU's Horizon Europe Fund.
Aviv has taken a strong pro-Israel stance in the ongoing war with Hamas, and told Ctech that Extend is “directing 100% of its energies to supporting the IDF.” “It allows soldiers to perform precise maneuvers in complex combat scenarios,” Xtend said on its website featuring testimonies from Israeli troops in the Gaza Strip.
In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Aviv said Extend has been working with the Israel Defense Forces for some time, initially to destroy incendiary balloons originating from the Gaza Strip. Since then, the drone has been used to map and reconnoiter underground tunnels dug by Hamas in Gaza, and more surprisingly, it has also been sent on reconnaissance missions with explosive payloads like grenades. .
While it may be controversial, this strategy seems to be working well for Xtend's business. The company says it has won $50 million in contracts to date across its customer base of “more than 50” organizations, including government defense agencies.
“We are unlocking the true potential of robotics in complex scenarios such as first response, search and rescue, and inspection of critical infrastructure,” Aviv said. “Hundreds of Xtend drone and robotic systems are already operationally deployed around the world, and we continue to use Xos and those platforms to realize the future of human-machine teaming.” We are developing it.”
With the new funding, which brings Xtend's total funding to $65 million, the company plans to move to a combination of platforms and grow its workforce by 50% to 110 employees across the U.S., Israel and Singapore by the end of the year. a-service sales model and software-as-a-service sales model. The roadmap includes international expansion with a particular focus on Japan.