Homewood-based Near Earth Autonomy Inc., makers of autonomous aviation systems for small drones to full-size helicopters, announced it picked up a $10 million equity investment from Kaman Corp. (NYSE: KAMN), a Bloomfield, Connecticut-based aerospace and defense company.
Near Earth plans to use the funds to increase the deployment of its technology, which it hopes will establish it as an industry standard for autonomous solutions in the aerospace industry. In exchange for the investment, Kaman acquired a minority interest in Near Earth's outstanding equity shares as well as a seat on Near Earth's board of directors.
"This investment represents a major leap forward for both Kaman and Near Earth to enable the next generation of autonomous aerial logistics," Sanjiv Singh, CEO and co-founder of Near Earth, said in a press release. "Kaman has a well-deserved reputation for its robust aircraft specializing in logistics and is a fantastic partner for the development of autonomous cargo transport. We are excited at the opportunity to mature the technology for the commonplace use of autonomous aircraft for logistics across the industry."
The investment from Kaman isn't the first time the two firms have worked together; Kaman uses Near Earth's tech for its K-MAX TITAN heavy-lift and pilot-optional helicopter, a product used by the U.S. Marine Corp., as well as for Kaman's purpose-built autonomous medium-lift logistics vehicle, the KARGO UAV unmanned aerial system.
"We are excited about this opportunity to accelerate the technology development of autonomous systems," Ian Walsh, chairman, president and CEO of Kaman, said in a release. "In an ever-changing and growing autonomy market, we are confident that our joint expertise will result in highly capable, reliable, affordable and maintainable solutions for both military and commercial applications."
Singh co-founded Near Earth in 2012 alongside the company's COO Marcel Bergerman, CTO Lyle Chamberlain and Principal Robotics Engineer Sebastian Scherer. It employs around 100 workers, most of whom are in Pittsburgh.
