Elsight take-off gets turbocharged with grant

In the latest coup for tech company Elsight, it has been selected as one of just 10 companies to participate in the second phase of Israel’s National Drone Initiative.

The two-year project, which comes with a grant of up to US$450,000 ($665,210), will allow Elsight (ASX:ELS) to experiment with operating large drones intended to carry passengers and heavy cargo in a single-managed airspace.

Set to start in January 2023, the project’s ultimate goal is to reduce road congestion in Israel – and ultimately other countries.

The grant will also assist with the expansion of Elsight’s globally leading proprietary Halo BVLOS (Beyond Visual Line of Sight) connectivity system.

More specifically, it will support the development of additional and next-generational Halo features, including additional Remote ID support, hyper-accurate Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS), and the next generation of long-term evolution (LTE) and 5G modems for the Halo.

“We appreciate and are excited to receive this grant,” said Elsight CEO, Yoav Amitai.

“It is another great validation of our product portfolio value proposition and market fit in the drone industry, and it will help us to push even further and get to new heights.”

Global leader

The grant approved today is part of a set of projects funded by the Israeli Government to expand the adoption of drones and other unmanned vehicles.

“Israel continues to be a world leader in drone technology,” said Dror Bin, CEO of Israel Innovation Authority.

“We serve as a model of a country that develops regulations and technologies to enable the management and control of the operation of multiple drones for various needs, and is rapidly approaching a continuous operating model that will enable low-altitude flights throughout the country.”

Winning the last mile battle

The battle for last mile delivery services is continuing to intensify in the US, as top retailers battle for supremacy.

As noted in a Forbes article earlier this month, Walmart is at the forefront of this tussle, expanding its DroneUp delivery network to 34 sites in six states by the end this year.

This will enable it to reach up to 4 million US households to deliver over 1 million packages of groceries and other supplies including Covid-19 test kits, via leading US company DroneUp.

Elsight is also perfectly poised to benefit from the demand for as it already has contracts with DroneUp and leading US airborne medical services firm Spright, in addition to Brazil-based Speedbird.

To make the most of these opportunities, Elsight raised $8 million last month through an offer of secured convertible notes to a range of well recognised Australian institutions and sophisticated investors.

This article was developed in collaboration with Elsight, a Stockhead advertiser at the time of publishing.

This article does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent advice before making any financial decisions.