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sees.ai
Techstars '19London, GB · Founded 2018 · 50 employees on LinkedIn · 5 known investors
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sees.ai develops an autonomous drone inspection platform for electricity network operators to conduct large-scale, close-up inspections of live power networks safely and consistently. The company owns the full technology stack from drone hardware to software and data systems, giving operators data sovereignty and centralized control capabilities.
Also known as Sees AI · sees.ai
Founders & leadership
Investors · 5
How we know: Elbow Beach Capital's portfolio page · a partner's Signal profile · open dataset · 5k.vc investor directory · Not right? Tell us
How we know: the Techstars portfolio · open dataset · Top 3000 Accelerator Startups (no YC) 2026-08 · open dataset · 5k.vc investor directory · Not right? Tell us
How we know: WakeUp Capital's portfolio page · research · startupmag.co.uk · Not right? Tell us
Company profile
researched Sep 2026sees.ai operates a centrally controlled autonomous drone system for close-quarter inspection, survey and condition monitoring of electricity transmission and distribution assets, including towers and spans. Inspections are flown Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) and managed from a central control room that can run multiple concurrent operations, allowing long sections of network to be covered from a limited number of launch locations and reducing land-access requirements. The company describes the system as Level-4 autonomous and states that it works in real time without pre-mapped environments or prior site surveys, adapting to asset geometry, surrounding structures and changing conditions such as vegetation encroachment.
The output is component-level, engineering-grade condition data delivered as structured, repeatable and platform-agnostic datasets intended for AI/ML processing and for longitudinal condition monitoring and maintenance planning. sees.ai positions the capability as complementary to helicopter surveys and ground crews rather than a replacement, and as integrating with operators' existing operational, regulatory and asset-management frameworks under a single safety and security framework spanning aircraft, operations and data capture. Beyond power lines, the company states the technology applies to oil and gas assets, nuclear facilities, railways, pipelines and other critical national infrastructure.
Founding story
The company was founded in 2018 by John McKenna together with engineers drawn from high-performance, safety-critical industries, to help electricity network operators cope with rising energy demand, ageing infrastructure and shrinking maintenance workforces.
Business model
sees.ai sells an integrated inspection service to infrastructure owners and operators, operating its own drones and central control room to deliver inspection data under long-term programmes; a landmark contract with National Grid covers inspection, survey and monitoring of the UK electricity transmission network.
Revenue derives from customer contracts for inspection, survey and monitoring programmes with infrastructure operators, such as the contract with National Grid covering the UK electricity transmission network.
Traction
Holds UK CAA authorisation for routine BVLOS operations and an Irish Aviation Authority BVLOS authorisation under PDRA G-03. Has progressed with National Grid Electricity Transmission from corrosion-detection trials and a 10-month R&D validation project to a contract and 2025 network-wide rollout across a 7,200 km transmission network; National Grid managers have publicly commented on imagery quality and the role of the technology in asset management. Headcount stood at 25 with plans to exceed 35 during 2025.
Latest developments
In October 2025 sees.ai announced a £3.65 million funding round co-led by Sustainable Future Ventures, Hearst Ventures and Elbow Beach with participation from WakeUp Capital and existing investors, to expand the team from 25 to more than 35 people during the year and scale its fleet to support the National Grid rollout and new use cases in the UK and Europe.
▸Full profile — market position, technology, go-to-market, geography, history
Market position
The company describes itself as the first in the UK to secure CAA authorisation for routine BVLOS missions in non-segregated airspace and characterises its National Grid deployment as one of the world's first large-scale implementations of centralised autonomy. It has been supported by Boeing, XeleratedFifty and the UK Government's Future Flight Challenge.
Technology
A proprietary, full-stack system covering the drone and flight systems through to data capture, giving operators sovereignty over their data. Capabilities include Level-4 autonomy, BVLOS flight in non-segregated airspace, real-time operation without pre-mapped environments or pre-flight surveys, and a centralised control room supporting multiple simultaneous missions. The founding team's backgrounds span robotics and autonomy, control systems and dynamics, GPS-denied navigation, scalable software architecture, embedded systems and high-risk operations, with prior experience at Apple, Arup, CERN, McLaren and Oracle Racing.
Go-to-market
Direct engagement with national grid owners and operators, moving from regulatory sandbox participation and trials through R&D validation projects to operational, network-wide rollouts; the site invites prospects to book demonstrations, and the company publishes case-study material on its National Grid work.
Owners and operators of critical national infrastructure, principally electricity transmission and distribution network operators such as National Grid Electricity Transmission, with stated applicability to oil and gas assets, nuclear facilities, pipelines and railways.
Geography
Operations centre on the United Kingdom, where the company is rolling out inspections across National Grid's 7,200 km transmission network. A 2025 Irish Aviation Authority BVLOS authorisation permits flights at specified sites in Ireland and is described as a route to streamlined EU authorisations via EASA, supporting planned expansion across the UK and Europe. The website is offered in English, French, Spanish, German and Italian.
History
Founded in 2018 by engineers from high-performance, safety-critical industries, sees.ai entered the UK CAA Regulatory Sandbox in 2019 as its seventh entrant, alongside Boeing and Amazon. In 2021 it became the first UK company authorised by the CAA for routine BVLOS operations and, with KeenAI, supported a National Grid Electricity Transmission trial of automated corrosion detection. It joined the third cohort of Boeing's Aerospace Xelerated accelerator in 2022, received CAA permission in 2023 for routine BVLOS inspection on two specified runs of NGET live overhead lines and began a further 10-month R&D validation project with NGET to prepare for network-wide rollout. In 2025 it obtained BVLOS authorisation from the Irish Aviation Authority under PDRA G-03, began the network-wide rollout with National Grid and announced a £3.65m funding round.
Compiled by commissioned research from 6 cited public sources — announcements, filings, and press listed under research sources below.
Key figures
latest reportedCompany-reported or press-reported figures, each dated to when it was claimed — not independently audited.
Timeline · 9
launches, deals, and filingssees.ai raised £3.65 million in a round co-led by Sustainable Future Ventures, Hearst Ventures and Elbow Beach, with participation from WakeUp Capital and existing backers. Proceeds are earmarked for team and fleet expansion to support the National Grid rollout.
National Grid and sees.ai began rolling out centralised autonomous drone inspections across the transmission network, under a contract to inspect, survey and monitor the UK electricity transmission network.
sees.ai secured BVLOS regulatory authorisation from the Irish Aviation Authority under PDRA G-03, permitting flights at specified sites in Ireland and opening a route to EASA authorisations.
NGET and sees.ai began a further 10-month project preparing for network-wide rollout.
The CAA permitted sees.ai to fly routine BVLOS inspection missions on two specific runs of National Grid Electricity Transmission live overhead power lines.
sees.ai joined the third cohort of Aerospace Xelerated, Boeing's UK-based startup accelerator.
National Grid Electricity Transmission launched trials of an automated corrosion-detection system developed with sees.ai and KeenAI.
sees.ai secured CAA authorisation for routine Beyond Visual Line of Sight operations, described as a UK first, in non-segregated airspace.
sees.ai became the seventh entity to enter the Civil Aviation Authority Regulatory Sandbox, alongside Boeing and Amazon.
Dated company events from announcements, filings, and press; legal rows summarize public dockets and regulator releases.
▸Research sources · 6
primary sources listed
- sees.aisees.ai · web
6 public sources were cited for this profile; the first-party ones are listed here.
Frequently asked questions
- What does sees.ai do?
- UK company running centrally controlled, Level-4 autonomous drones for close-quarter inspection of electricity grid assets.
- Who are sees.ai's investors?
- sees.ai's investors include Elbow Beach Capital, Techstars, WakeUp Capital, Hearst Ventures, Sustainable Future Ventures.
- Where is sees.ai headquartered?
- sees.ai is headquartered in London, GB.