Spexi raises $16.2-million CAD Series A for blockchain-based drone imagery network

Vancouver-based Spexi Geospatial has secured a $16.2-million CAD ($11.5 million USD) Series A round as it develops new applications for its image-capturing drone pilot network.

Spexi is developing applications for autonomous systems, smart infrastructure, gaming, and AI.

The all-equity round closed this week and was led by New York City-based return investor Blockchange Ventures, a venture capital firm that focuses on blockchain technologies. Spexi CEO Bill Lakeland told BetaKit in an email statement that other round participants included Moonshots Capital, Protocol Labs, and web3 entrepreneur Tom Trowbridge.

Founded in 2017, Spexi operates a blockchain-based “fly-to-earn” network of drone pilots that take high-resolution aerial imagery meant to help prepare and respond to disasters, enable smart cities, remotely inspect infrastructure, or monitor natural resources. The startup claims the imagery on its platform is cheaper, higher quality, and more frequently updated than satellite or aerial photography. Lakeland told BetaKit that the Spexi provides access to its imagery through a subscription-based model, but prices are “highly variable” based on area of coverage and data recency. 

Lakeland added that Spexi has service agreements with its purchasers to ensure the data isn’t being used in negligent or nefarious ways. 

“This is the norm for image data companies like ours and ensures the data is being used for the right reasons,” Lakeland said, adding that its drones collect images from an altitude that is too high to identify people, addresses, licence plates, or other personal information. 

Spexi looks to incentivize drone pilots to join its platform and collect imagery from standardized 24-acre hexagons, dubbed “Spexigons,” with cash rewards and “reputation points.” The reputation system rewards users who upload the results of their flights, while detracting from those that fail, operate in an unsafe manner, or otherwise harm the health of Spexi’s network. Spexi says points can be used to reserve Spexigona and that “users with a strong reputation are intended to have a much better chance of earning in the future.” 

This leads to Spexi’s long-term goal: a token-incentized physical infrastructure network, built on providing its drone pilots with a native crypto utility token, called SPEXI, that can be used or consumed to reserve Spexigons for preferential capture periods or credits for data processing. Spexi says it intends to distribute SPEXI tokens at some point in the future, but are currently “pending regulatory approval or clarity,” and that it does not guarantee that reputation points will make every user eligible for tokens.

The startup previously raised a $7.8 million CAD ($5.5 million USD) seed round in 2022, led by Blockchange with participation from Protocol Labs, InDro Robotics, and Dapper Labs. 

Spexi said it raised its latest Series A funding as it develops applications for autonomous systems, smart infrastructure, gaming, and AI.

“With our ability to scale rapidly and deliver superior data with near zero emissions, I am proud that we are not only supporting essential government and emergency response services at a fraction of the usual cost, but also driving the future of AI and metaverse powered technologies across industries globally,” Lakeland said in a statement. 

Lakeland explained to BetaKit that Spexi’s dataset is “perfectly suited” for training AI models and for metaverse or gaming applications, which can use its real-world imagery to construct “a realistic and current representation of the world in digital form.” He added that Spexi aims to make analytics development easy for AI companies, and is currently working with Northeastern University on AI modeling for Spexi’s applications that could help identify where extreme wildfire risks are surrounding infrastructure and communities 

When BetaKit asked Lakeland if the claim that Spexi emits “near zero emissions” factors in its use of blockchain and AI, both of which are energy-intensive and produce carbon emissions with negative environmental impacts, Lakeland said its calculation is based on “leveraging a global network of pilots using battery-powered micro-drones”

“We’re always evaluating new technologies like blockchain and AI to ensure we continue delivering sustainable solutions,” he added.

Spexi claims that, since its inception, it has facilitated more than 50,000 drone missions that produced over 3.7 million aerial images across Canada, the United States, Mexico, and the United Kingdom. 

Earlier this year, Spexi was awarded a $1-million contract from the Government of Canada to capture Earth imagery in order to improve emergency preparedness and responses to wildfires.  

UPDATE (12/12/2024): This story has been updated with information and commentary from Spexi CEO Bill Lakeland.

Feature image courtesy Spexi.