Former 3DR Hotshot Colin Guinn Founds Drone Startup Hangar with $6.5 mill in Funding

The drone industry is a bit young to have established any legends; but Colin Guinn comes close. Guinn helped DJI put down roots in the U.S. as CEO of North American Operations. In 2014 he was hired by 3DR to run sales and marketing. He seemed to be everywhere, giving webinars, speaking at trade shows, and functioning as a drone evangelist in overdrive. Now he is on to his third drone company, Hangar, a company which specializes in data capture using drone.

Guinn is co-founder along with Jeffrey DeCoux, founder and CEO of eCustomers and SMART technologies. The company has received $6.5 million in see financing led by Lux Capital. Haystack Partners and Fontinalis Partners also participated. The founding of the company comes on the heels of Part 107 being enacted. This is expected to open up commercial use of drone technology and Hangar is looking to take advantage of that development. It appears that their unique selling proposition hinges in part on autonomous flight. Guinn stated:

I’ve watched drone technology advance at a breakneck pace like no other product before it. These consumer-friendly products now have multiple computers, an autopilot, 4k cameras, long-range video links, sensors and more and only costs $500-$999. Harnessing that technology is an unparalleled opportunity across industry. ‘Consumer’ drones have become so advanced that no human can fully maximize and capitalize on their capabilities – it’s time for software to automate and optimize data capture from these devices.

Hangar is going to be focused on developing an enterprise application. Interesting in that Guinn to a large extent helped pioneer and establish the consumer market. He left 3DR recently as the company pivoted away from the consumer market to focus on commercial markets, such as construction, public safety and agriculture. These are industries Hangar is likely to target. Specific information is a bit thin. Hangar’s web site is a tear sheet for collecting emails, soliciting beta testers and recruiting employees. They are looking for operators of Yuneec, DJI, and 3DR drones to apply for their private beta here, and hiring for a number of positions you can review here.

Frank Schroth

Frank Schroth is editor in chief of DroneLife, the authoritative source for news and analysis on the drone industry: it’s people, products, trends, and events.
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