XTI Aerospace to Acquire Equity Interest in ReadyMonitor AI-Powered, Autonomous Drone Company
The Future of Drones is Fully Autonomous
ENGLEWOOD, Colo., Jan. 13, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — XTI Aerospace, Inc. (NASDAQ: XTIA) (“XTI” or the “Company”), a pioneer in advanced Vertical Takeoff and Landing (“VTOL”), Powered-Lift aircraft solutions, today announced that it has signed a non-binding Memorandum of Understanding (“MOU”) to acquire a 30% fully-diluted equity interest in ReadyMonitor, LLC, a leading AI-powered, autonomous Drone-as-a-Service (“DaaS”) company, which is expected to close this Q1 2025, with the option to acquire the remaining 70% of ReadyMonitor within 12 months (the “Transaction”).
ReadyMonitor is the recipient of a first-of-its-kind Federal Aviation Administration (“FAA”) Certificate of Waiver of 14 CFR § 107.31, which is the requirement for “visual line of sight for aircraft operations.” This Waiver allows for small, unmanned aircraft (drones) to be launched and operated by ReadyMonitor without a human present, beyond the direct visual line of sight (“BVLOS”) of the remote pilot in command. DroneNerds, the largest unmanned aerial vehicle (“UAV”) dealer by volume of units sold in the United States, which currently owns more than 40% of the outstanding equity interests of ReadyMonitor, is supporting the Transaction, and will continue to work with ReadyMonitor and XTI providing customer access and service, and supplying AI-powered, autonomous drones.
ReadyMonitor was co-founded by Brandon Torres Declet and Jesse Stepler, proven leaders in the drone industry. Mr. Torres Declet is former CEO and Chairman of the Board of Unusual Machines (NYSE: UMAC), a leader in First Person View (“FPV”) drones, a spin-off of Red Cat, producer of defense focused, technology-driven drones, and former CEO of AgEagle Aerial Systems, an industry leader in full-stack drone solutions. Mr. Stepler is former Co-Founder and President of Measure, an early, leading Drone-as-a-Service provider in the United States, which was acquired by AgEagle Aerial Systems.
It is our singular mission at XTI Aerospace to deliver leading, business-focused solutions as we seek to shape the future across the Powered-Lift category,
said Scott Pomeroy, CEO of XTI. “Expansion into autonomous, remotely operated drones is foundational to our strategic vision that incorporates unmanned VTOLs along with our uniquely configured TriFan 600 aircraft. By combining drone technology with VTOL innovation, we believe we’re positioning XTI to accelerate the development of both UAV and VTOL solutions, expanding our market presence, and creating new opportunities across multiple industries. This Transaction will combine the innovation and experience of the XTI and ReadyMonitor teams; ReadyMonitor is poised to accelerate revenue realization in 2025.”
This Transaction will allow for collaboration between ReadyMonitor and XTI in a way that uniquely captures the opportunity presented by Powered-Lift operations,
said Mr. Torres Declet, Co-Founder and CEO of ReadyMonitor. “The artificial intelligence (“AI”) powering ReadyMonitor’s autonomous drones leverages advanced machine learning algorithms and computer vision to enable real-time decision-making, obstacle avoidance, and mission optimization without human intervention. In our Drone-as-a-Service and Drone-in-a-Box operations, AI facilitates seamless remote monitoring by automating flight paths, analyzing collected data for actionable insights, and ensuring continuous and efficient operations. We expect application of AI and our approach to real-time, mission-critical decisions to benefit XTI in progressing next-generation VTOL technology.”
“Together, we can advance the technology of AI-powered, autonomous drones and piloted and unmanned VTOLs, meeting critical customer needs across a wide variety of use cases, ranging from remote monitoring of important assets to air taxis, medevacs, and regional transportation,” added Mr. Stepler, Co-Founder and President of ReadyMonitor. “ReadyMonitor and XTI leadership collectively understand that the power of this technology is unlocked by meeting specific customer needs through application of our combined resources; it’s about execution and we have the winning formula.”
ReadyMonitor is currently deploying Drone-in-a-Box (“DIAB”) assets to large enterprise customers including utilities, ranchers and other substantial landowners, security, infrastructure and construction businesses. Monitoring these assets from a centralized and remote location on behalf of its customers brings several advantages:
- 100% Turnkey. Corporate customers avoid capital expenditures (“CapEx”) for drone equipment and have access to data obtained from drones operated remotely by professional ReadyMonitor pilots.
- Remote Autonomous Operation and Monitoring. Drones, piloted from ReadyMonitor’s 24/7 state-of-the-art Operations Center, remotely deployed from and returning to self-contained landing “boxes”.
- Drone Manufacturer Agnostic. Delivery of best-in-class technology-enabled DIAB solutions designed to meet specific customer needs.
- Cost Savings, Predictability and Reliability. Zero CapEx impact required and no need for customers to hire and train pilots leads to shorter sales cycle. ReadyMonitor offers both all inclusive (hardware, software, service) and customer owned (software, service) subscription packages supported by 24/7 ReadyMonitor operators, ensuring availability, reliability, predictability, and safety.
“We partnered with and have been investing in ReadyMonitor because we have a long-standing relationship with their experienced management team and ReadyMonitor is making the ability to capture the benefits of drone technology easy and lucrative for customers, enabling businesses to have an instant live view of their assets and operations, anywhere and anytime,” added Jeremy Schneiderman, CEO of DroneNerds. “Not only can we make certain that the best technology for ReadyMonitor and now XTI customers is available; with DroneNerds invested in ReadyMonitor, we have a vertically integrated approach, enhanced by providing drones remotely monitored by ReadyMonitor as a service; this should immediately be recognized as a dominant position by the industry.”
The consummation of this Transaction, which is subject to the execution of definitive agreements and certain shareholder and regulatory approvals, is expected to expand XTI Aerospace’s footprint in the growing drone segment of the Powered-Lift market and support its advancement of VTOL technology.
XTI Aerospace to Acquire Equity Interest in ReadyMonitor AI-Powered, Autonomous Drone Company, source.
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