Recently, Kite Aero announced their acquisition of Swoop Aeros’s assets, including the distinguished Kite Drone and their drone operations software platform designed for aerial logistics. Swoop Aero was an Australian drone logistics company primarily focused on vital medical drone delivery in remote areas. Swoop Aero has operated in multiple parts of Africa, New Zealand, and Australia and made a large impact on the citizens of those areas by carrying out critical drone deliveries of vaccines and medications in rural or remote areas.

With the acquisition as the foundation, Kite Aero aims to scale their aerial logistics hardware and software platforms in the coming year.

Commercial UAV News caught up with Kite Aero CEO Philip van der Burg to understand the strategic reasons behind this acquisition.

“Kite Aero sees Swoop’s technical and operational achievements as the backbone of our mission to innovate and scale drone-based logistics,” said van der Burg.

“Swoop’s proven track record in healthcare delivery, its proprietary software platforms, and its hardware platform are all highly valuable assets. The acquisition includes key technology, IP, and select infrastructure critical to Kite Aero’s vision of ‘making access to the skies seamless’.”

Swoop Aero created a robust software suite for their missions that goes beyond a flight plan and includes operation management, logistics tracking, and emergency response. Kite Aero plans to open this AI platform to third-party members such as UAS OEMS, logistics providers, government agencies, and enterprises with last-mile delivery needs. The opportunity to share this platform beyond the walls of the company gives insight into the current state of the drone industry where there is a collaborative effort to drive innovation across all sectors. Organizations are eager and open to learning the best practices from one another.

Kite Aero also recognized the platform as a tool that will drive innovation and success throughout different areas of the drone industry. This benefit will be shared with their stakeholders, by providing them access to automated and AI driven flight operations tools. According to van der Burg, “They can achieve safer drone operations, reduce costs, improve delivery timelines, and access remote or underserved areas more efficiently. It’s a democratization of smart logistics”

Over the last year, the drone industry has seen an surge in strategic mergers and acquisitions. This is a clear indication that the industry is moving out of its infancy and consolidating efforts and assets in a way that elevates the industry and its stakeholders.  Some may argue that increasing acquisitions in the industry would lead to a loss of diversity in the market.

For Kite Aero, this is not the case. Swoop Aero was a company that served a diverse range of industries such as medical, wildlife conservation and monitoring, coastal patrol, and disaster response. Under its new ownership, these efforts will continue, but with a stronger focus on delivery through software applications. “Healthcare operations are still key for Kite Aero, as we open up our leading software platform, we’re enabling other critical sectors to continue to advance”, van der Burg explains.

Courtesy of Kite Aero

 

“This move builds on core industry strengths. From deep experience in autonomous delivery and regulatory navigation, to scalable platforms and global ambitions. Kite Aero can fast-track innovation and deployment. For the industry, it signals a maturing market where collaboration and integration are replacing fragmentation,” says van der Burg.

Looking ahead, Kite Aero is projecting a scaled expansion into the sectors previously occupied by Swoop Aero. Currently the company is working on building upon the AI software platforms it has acquired and collaborating with partners - past, present and future – to enable them to be key players in the drone ecosystem they are building.