Sydney-based drone detection vendor DroneShield today will list on the Australian Securities Exchange following a successful $7 million initial public offer.
The company issued 35 million shares at 20 cents each, giving DroneShield a market capitalisation of $27 million.
DroneShield develops omnidirectional and long-range sensors and on-site processors to detect unethical drones and protect industries such as prisons, airports, commercial venues and government locations. It also has its own cloud-based proprietary technology hosted in AWS.
The company has 42 partners in 31 countries from North America, Asia-Pacific, Europe, South America and the Middle East. Its Australian partner, Western Advance, is a specialist technology supplier to the oil and gas, mining, defence, transport and maritime industries.
DroneShield has shipped approximately 214 units since it was founded in January 2014.
Chief executive James Walker told CRN the focus for the company would be expanding its global partner base. DroneShield sells 100 percent through its distributor and reseller channel.
“We’re looking for distributors [resellers] who already have relationships with customers and who are already selling security solutions. This is a brand new market, so for every customer this will be the first time they’ve bought it, so it’s important we work with distributors that already have relationships.”
He added that the other major focus would be to develop a solution that combines drone detection and counter measures. Laws in Australia and the US prohibit counter measures against illegal drone operations. Walker said DroneShield wants to have a counter measure solution ready to go to market when the laws change.
DroneShield will allocate $3.2 million expand its executive, sales, operations teams, and $2.5 million on research and development.
The company reported a US$91,990 loss (AU$123,368) in the nine-month period ending 30 September 2015 on US$94,515 (AU$126,755) of revenue.
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