Jul. 11—Darkhive Inc., a San Antonio-based drone maker, has won a $5 million contract to develop autonomous software for the U.S. Air Force.
The startup was awarded a Phase III Small Business Innovation Research contract with the Air Force Research Laboratory's innovation hub to integrate and test next-generation autonomy software for drones, which the Department of Defense refers to as uncrewed aerial system platforms.
The funding comes through a new program that's working to find private partners developing artificial intelligence-powered drones and other technologies. Known as AFWERX Prime, it aims to foster a culture of innovation by sidestepping bureaucracy and engaging entrepreneurs.
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"An open government-owned framework optimized for rapidly integrating, testing and securely deploying software to edge systems has been at the center of our mission from the beginning," Darkhive CEO John Goodson said in a statement. "The government and industry team supporting this effort is phenomenal. We're honored to have the opportunity to contribute to solving some very hard problems for DOD and, most importantly, delivering for the end user on the front lines."
Goodson, a former U.S. Navy combat technician who supported SEAL teams with tactical drones in Afghanistan, founded Darkhive in 2021. The company aims to make advances in the design of drone technology for use in military and public safety applications. He was not available for comment Monday.
The new funding keeps Darkhive on track to meet its goal of raising $30 million in funding from federal SBIR contracts through next year.
Goodson's company last year obtained $1 million in preseed funding as it shopped around its small 3D-printed drones, and it was awarded another $1.6 million from the DOD for five research and development grants.
It also has garnered support from the local technology industry. Darkhive is in the portfolio of Austin-based Capital Factory, which expanded its Center for Defense Innovation — a program working to connect the military with businesses that can provide emerging technology — to the Boeing Center at Tech Port in San Antonio.
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Darkhive is "poised to become a leading player in this exciting and growing (drone) industry," Capital Factory President Bryan Chambers said in March. The venture capital firm cited increased adoption of drones among commercial and government users, including the military.
At that time, Goodson said the company had five employees manufacturing prototype drones in an Austin facility.
They were developing Darkhive's first product, known as Yellowjacket. The artificial intelligence-powered 3D-printed plastic drone is about the size of a mini laptop and weighs less than a pound.
The Android smartphone-controlled drone can fly at 20 mph for about 15 minutes. The idea is that the drones, which are not armed, could be carried in backpacks and used for short-range reconnaissance, employing cameras and sensors to detect indoor and outdoor threats.
Goodson said he hoped to start selling the Yellowjacket this year for about $5,000 each, which the company considered a low price compared to typical drones that cost $12,000 to $80,000.
For now, Darkhive's primary customer is the military.
"In order to achieve dynamic, autonomous systems both within the U.S. Department of Defense and with foreign partners, we have to break away from fragmented, vendor-locked approaches to software development and secure deployment on uncrewed systems," Steve Turner, chief technology officer of Darkhive, said in a statement.
Despite what he called "significant advancements" in the past decade, he said the promise of such drones has yet to be fully realized.
"We are thrilled to collaborate with the U.S. Air Force and industry partners to overcome these challenges and spearhead a revolution in autonomous systems," Turner said.
Darkhive is also interested in selling drones to law enforcement agencies already using drones to assess large traffic accidents, conduct search and rescue operations, and pursue suspects.
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