Toronto-based TRACE recently received $7 million in funding and promised it would expand its team and technology through various strategic acquisitions. Today, TRACE quickly followed through by announcing it has acquired Saskatoon-based Draganfly Innovations, a commercial sUAS (small Unmanned Aerial System) specialists and is credited by being the first civilian sUAS save a life.
Draganfly was founded in 1998 by founder and President, Zenon Dragan. The company and its engineering team will keep its roots in Saskatoon and will assist TRACE to “collaborate on the further advancement of the TRACE Live Network auto-follow devices and live-streaming platform.” Dragan will continue to lead the Draganfly team and will also join the TRACE executive team.
Draganfly Innovations Inc. founder and President, Zenon Dragan said, “This acquisition allows us to expand and provide our UAV solutions to larger markets. More organizations will benefit from the industry leading aerial imaging and data that our systems provide. We will continue to develop products that push the boundaries of technology.”
Cameron Chell, TRACE co-founder, said, of the acquisition, “Draganfly Innovations is undoubtedly one of the most respected organizations in the commercial UAV space and we see huge scope for growth, not only within the company’s existing business, but through integrated applications of Draganfly UAVs with TRACE’s visual intelligence tracking technology. We’re incredibly excited to scale out Draganfly to service a wider market and put the expertise within our teams together to collaborate on some ground breaking and potentially life saving new products.”
The terms of the deal were not disclosed.