U.S. aircraft giant Boeing Company said Wednesday that its HorizonX Ventures is investing in a San Francisco-based Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Software startup Kittyhawk for an integrated technology platform to support a reliable traffic management system.
Boeing said Kittyhawk's next-generation safety technology will help build such a system to let UAS drones and piloted aircraft to fly safely and simultaneously in the same airspace.
Kittyhawk has been developing enterprise-oriented software and mobile-based apps that integrate real-time UAS flight operations and management solutions all in one platform, Boeing said.
Since its establishment in 2015, Kittyhawk has used its end-to-end drone operation technology to grow its customer base to include industry leaders in media, insurance, energy, rail transportation, as well as fire and emergency management agencies.
Boeing said Kittyhawk is partnering with its subsidiary Jeppesen to expand unmanned operations by participating in the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration's Low Altitude Authorization and Notification Capability aimed at creating a UAS traffic management process that integrates unmanned aircraft, cargo delivery and beyond visual line of sight operations safely into the airspace.
"When paired with the broad portfolio of complementary data service offerings within Boeing, Kittyhawk is poised to help us shape the future of safe autonomous flight," said Brian Schettler, managing director of Boeing HorizonX Ventures.
Joshua Ziering, founder and chief pilot of Kittyhawk, said Boeing's long history of forging new industries within the aerospace sector will help Kittyhawk's growth as the drone startup continues to create robust, open and interoperable standards to empower the commercial drone industry.
Boeing HorizonX Ventures was joined by Los Angeles-based financial service company Bonfire Ventures to participate in this seed funding round, in partnership with Freestyle Capital, an investment firm founded in 2009.
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