Elsight bags first commercial order for Walmart partner DroneUp, shares climb

Critical connectivity technology company Elsight (ASX:ELS) enjoyed a breakout 2021, making cutting edge inroads in the application of commercial drone-tech.

And in a major development this morning, the company provided fresh detail on its partnership with DroneUp – the US-based industry leader – and a preferred supplier working directly with some of the world’s largest retail and logistics groups.

Shares in the company rose almost 10% at the opening bell, to 42.5c.

Elsight has confirmed DroneUp’s first commercial order for Elsight’s Halo platform – the inhouse communications device which delivers fast and secure data transmission and end-to-end connectivity for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).

And as one of the leading drone manufacturing companies in the US, the deal with DroneUp gives ELS the ability to grow its market share in one of the fastest-growing US sectors.

The real deal and the next steps

The commercial order for Halo also marks an important validation of Elsight’s technology, in a sector – commercial drones – which is on track to become a multi-billion dollar industry over the medium to long-term.

The Halo technology “provides DroneUp with a robust connectivity solution for command-and-control redundancy certification, critical and secure data transmission, and uninterrupted connectivity,” Elsight said.

The technology will be used as a key part of the end-to-end link between each individual drone, the DroneP field drone up and the DroneUp control centre.

It followed an extensive period of collaboration with DroneUp, which first announced a major strategic investment from US retail giant Walmart in June 2021.

In November, DroneUp and Walmart officially announced the first live multi-site commercial drone parcel delivery operation, with goods transported from a central logistics hub.

Delivery on the Fly

At the same time, Walmart also launched its website for drone delivery orders called “Delivery on the Fly.”

With the commercial order for its Halo platform, Elsight now has a first-mover advantage in the sector, working with one of the biggest companies globally putting a strategic priority on drone delivery.

“Partnerships such as this are a great indication for Elsight and our Halo suite of connectivity solutions, and our ability to be a solution provider wherever and whenever businesses need absolute and uncompromised connection confidence,” Elsight CEO Yoav Amital said.

A seat at the table

DroneUp’s deep engagement with the industry was also further demonstrated by its selection onto the US Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) Aviation Rule Making Committee (ARC), where the company now has an official representative.

It makes for an exciting year ahead for Elsight, which is now looking to convert an extensive period of technology development work into material commercial contracts.