Airware, a google funded startup that had raised $118 million from top investors like Andreessen Horowitz, Google’s GV, and Kleiner Perkins informed its employees that it was ceasing operations. Drones are enabling companies to more efficiently and effectively capture data, and Airware allows enterprises to integrate this data with existing information and workflows to improve efficiency, productivity, and safety. Airware was positioning itself as an “enterprise drone analytics company” trying to help enterprises harness aerial data.

The startup ran out of money after trying to manufacture its own hardware that couldn’t compete with drone giants like China’s DJI.

According to techcrunch,

“Airware was ahead of the game trying to build their software. So far ahead that the drone hardware on the market wasn’t sophisticated enough to actually produce the granularity of data they needed to test out their software/train their algorithms” an ex-employee told TechCrunch (emphasis ours). “So they spent shitloads of money designing bespoke hardware, including two drones in-house, one multi-rotor called an AT-28, and one fixed-wing called Cygnet. Both projects were scuttled as hardware from DJI and Ebee caught up to needs, after sinking tons of engineering time and manufacturing into them.”

Airware has put up a “thank you” note about the shutdown informing clients that “A representative from the Airware team will be in touch.”