Last week, police surveillance startup Flock Safety announced it had acquired drone startup Aerodome. The deal was valued at more than $300 million, according to people in the venture world. This number had not been previously reported.
Flock Safety and Aerodome are both backed by Andreessen Horowitz and have raised more than $680 million and $28 million, respectively, according to PitchBook. Rahul Sidhu, a former police officer, founded Aerodome just 17 months ago, proclaiming it a “Speedrun of American Dynamism” after the name of the A16Z defense technology-focused initiative.
Sidhu also called the deal “one of the largest technology acquisitions” in public safety history. “Our acquisition is not the end for Aerodome, but the beginning of a golden age in the advancement of public safety technology,” he wrote.
Aerodome has developed technology to power drones as emergency responders. Currently, many police drone programs require humans to pilot the drones, but drone companies like Skydio, Brinc Drones, and Aerodome are all perfecting autonomous services. For example, when police receive a 911 call, a drone can take off on its own to scout the scene and let police know if the area is safe to enter.
Flock Safety also focuses on law enforcement as a customer, building cameras that can identify license plates and sensors that detect gunshots.
The acquisition accelerates Flock Safety's aggressive expansion into police drones. Flock Safety has announced that it plans to release its drone within the next year and, according to Sidhu's post, plans to hire 100 more engineers to its aviation team.
This drone expansion plan puts the company in direct competition with drone manufacturer Skydio, another A16Z portfolio company.
Garrett Langley, founder and CEO of Flock Safety, said the expansion into drones was natural. “Anyone who has seen a drone first response program in action knows that this technology will play a central role in the future of public safety,” he said in a company blog post. You know that,” he said. “No other technology allows law enforcement officers to monitor a scene as quickly as drones.”