Dedrone, a Sterling-based airspace security and drone defense company, has reached a deal to be acquired by Axon Enterprise Inc. (NASDAQ: AXON), a Scottsdale, Arizona, company best known for making the Taser weapon and police body cams.
Terms of the deal, which is expected to close in the second half of the year, were not disclosed.
Dedrone works with military, government and commercial customers and has raised $127 million from investors, including Axon, since its founding in 2014. Its technology protects against drone threats and advances the use of drones as emergency first responders. Its Dedrone Tracker system can detect hundreds of models of drones from different makers and trigger alarms if they’re deemed to be threats. The system was used at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar as well as at a 2023 Formula One race in Austin, Texas.
Dedrone, which employs 152, has drone deployments in 30 nations and has seen year-over-year revenue growth of over 50% since 2020. CEO Aaditya Devarakonda was recently one of the Washington Business Journal’s Diversity in Business Awards honorees. Devarakonda was a technology investment banker and a Dedrone adviser before being named CEO in 2020.
“Dedrone’s growing impact across industries such as federal governments, utilities and critical infrastructure, event venues, airports, correctional facilities and other enterprises, coupled with Axon’s powerful ecosystem of connected devices and software, will put us at the forefront of ensuring not only the safety of our communities but also the security of nations around the world,” Devarakonda said in a statement.
Axon said the acquisition will help its customers safeguard their communities and improve response to critical incidents. Axon CEO and founder Rick Smith told CNBC the acquisition of Dedrone will increase his company’s total available market by more than 20%.
“By combining Axon’s 30-year legacy of innovation with Dedrone’s cutting-edge airspace security solutions, we aim to revolutionize public safety once again,” Smith said in a statement. “Together, we will accelerate our efforts in creating a more advanced end-to-end drone solution that enables the good drones to fly and helps ensure the bad ones don’t.”
Axon’s customers include international, federal, state and local law enforcement, fire departments, correctional facilities as well as commercial businesses.
Axon was advised in the deal by Sullivan & Cromwell LLP and Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP, while Dedrone was advised by Tidal Partners and Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP.
