DroneBase

DroneBase, renamed Zeitview in April 2023, provides aerial imaging, inspection and analytics for owners and operators of high-value infrastructure. The company began by connecting enterprises needing aerial imagery with a distributed network of commercial drone pilots, operating a mobile app used by tens of thousands of DJI drone pilots who flew commercial missions in more than 60 countries as of early 2018. Customers span solar, wind, insurance, construction, commercial real estate and other critical infrastructure sectors.

Over time the company shifted from data capture toward AI-led analysis. It uses multiple capture methods — quadcopter and fixed-wing drones, manned aircraft and ground-based capture — and applies an AI platform to analyze imagery, including thermal data of utility-scale solar farms and high-resolution imagery of wind turbines. Product lines have included DroneBase Insights for Wind and Solar, the AR tool AirCraft Pro for drone pilots, the North American Solar Scan (a standardized rating system for large-scale solar assets), and a Property Insights platform whose rooftop capabilities were expanded in March 2023 to add commercial thermal inspections and AI/ML damage assessment for commercial, residential and multi-family properties.

The company describes itself as serving the renewable energy and sustainable infrastructure sectors, with teams covering utility-scale generating equipment, transmission and distribution lines, substations, and rooftop solar and wind for commercial and industrial property owners."]

Founding story

Founder and CEO Dan Burton became interested in drones while serving as a Marine Infantry Officer in Iraq and Afghanistan from 2007 to 2011, where he used next-generation data capture tools including quadcopter and fixed-wing drones, sensor-equipped Cessnas and satellite imagery. Before founding the company he worked in Goldman Sachs' Technology, Media & Telecom group and began his career as a Special Projects Assistant in the U.S. Senate; he holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and a BA from New York University.

Business model

The company sells aerial data capture and inspection analysis to enterprise asset owners and operators, combining a network of contracted drone pilots and other capture methods (aircraft, ground) with software platforms that analyze the resulting imagery and deliver reports and insights.

Enterprise services and software for aerial inspection and analysis of infrastructure assets; pilots on the network are paid for flying commercial missions.

Traction

More than 100,000 commercial drone missions flown across over 60 countries by February 2018 with tens of thousands of DJI pilots on the platform; over 37 GW of renewable energy inspections completed by October 2021; active in more than 70 countries.

Latest developments

In February 2023 the company announced $55 million in new funding and, in April 2023, formally rebranded from DroneBase to Zeitview, positioning around advanced inspection software for energy and infrastructure. In March 2023 it expanded the rooftop assessment capabilities of its AI-enabled Property Insights platform with thermal inspections for commercial properties and AI/ML damage assessment.