Elbow Beach has invested in sees.ai, the UK’s leading autonomous aerial solutions pioneer, as part of a £3.65million funding round alongside Sustainable Future Ventures, Hearst Ventures and WakeUp Capital. This funding will accelerate sees.ai’s ability to deliver unprecedented insights that transform how critical infrastructure is designed, developed and managed nationally and internationally.

A new age of nationwide, centrally controlled autonomous robotics

The investment cements sees.ai’s leadership in remotely capturing high-value aerial data at national scale, from a central control room. Supported by Boeing, XeleratedFifty and the UK Government’s Future Flight Challenge, sees.ai became the first company in theUK to secure Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) authorisation for routine BeyondVisual Line of Sight (BVLOS) missions in non-segregated airspace. Building on this breakthrough, sees.ai has now secured a landmark contract with NationalGrid to inspect, survey and monitor the UK’s electricity transmission network.

sees.ai’s proprietary technology enables the remote operation of complex, close-quarter missions nationwide around live power lines, oil and gas assets, nuclear facilities, railways and other critical infrastructure. The system captures consistent, precise,AI-ready data at scale - data that was previously impossible to obtain -unlocking insights that strengthen infrastructure design, quality assurance and operational reliability and resilience.

Scaling with new funding

With this investment, sees.ai is expanding its team and equipment to support the rollout of its technology across National Grid’s 7,200 km transmission network in the UK – a milestone inNational Grid’s digital transformation journey and the UK’s energy transition.The company will grow its headcount from 25 to more than 35 this year and scale its fleet to meet rising demand and unlock new use cases across the UK andEurope.

Jonathan Pollock, co-founder and CEO of Elbow Beach, commented: “sees.ai is poised to capitalise on a growing market opportunity that supports Britain’s transition to a low-carbon economy. Their technology addresses critical industrial challenges while contributing to decarbonisation, aligning perfectly with the UK’s ModernIndustrial Strategy. We are excited to support their growth as they continue to showcase the world-class capabilities of British innovation.”

John McKenna, CEO of sees.ai, added: “The precision and value of the asset condition data we are now capturing is unmatched globally. This funding will accelerate our ability to deliver unprecedented insights that shape how critical infrastructure is designed, developed and managed. As one of the world’s first large-scale implementations of centralised autonomy, this deployment signals the start of an enormous period of growth and abundance, where AI and drones redefine work, boost efficiency, and empower us to better safeguard our planet. We are excited to have the support of these phenomenal investors.”

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