Wednesday, December 16, 2020

DASH Systems Finds $8M For Airdrop Delivery Technology

Los Angeles-based DASH Systems, a developer of technology that allows for precision airdrop of deliveries from cargo aircraft, has raised $8M in a seed funding round, the company said this morning. The funding was led by 8VC, and also included Tusk Venture Partners, Loup Ventures, Trust Ventures, Perot Jain, and MiLA Capital. The startup--which got started at Make in LA and then received funding MiLA Capital, and a few others, before it went through the Techstars Los Angeles program---said the new funding will go to conduct pilot programs with partners and expand into commercial use in its target markets. The company's hardware and software is aimed at very precise, airdrop deliveries in rural, remote, and difficult to reach locations, allowing shipments to be delivered without a plane needing to land. The company's software includes flight management software, automated aircraft cargo handling systems and "smart-cargo" pods which enable the precision landing of packages released from aircraft. The company says it has been actively working with the Air Force Special Operations Command to develop a hyper-accurate airdrop tool for small payload deliveries and plans to launch pilot operations in rural Alaska next year. DASH Systems is led by founder Joel Ifill.