Editor’s Note: Robotics Business Review’s coverage emphasizes innovation, including start-up companies (or ‘young’ companies). RBR “Start-Up Profiles” highlight individual start-up companies using a consistent, templated format that makes for quick, yet informed reading, that also simplifies comparative analysis.
Target Arm – Company Profile
| City: | Ridgefield | State: | Connecticut |
| Country: | USA | # of Employees: | 4 |
| URL: | ww.targetarm.com | Founded: | 2017 |
Founders – Jeffrey A. McChesney/CEO & Founder; Ryan Bigham/VP & Lead Engineer
Funding Status – Venture backed with $420,000 in Seed funding. Seed 2 Round planned in November 2020 ($5M)
Tular enables users to deploy and recover drones while moving at up to highway speeds, or even during windy conditions.
Target Arm – Offerings Profile
Primary Target Markets – Defense, Logistics / Supply Chain, Oil / Gas / Energy
Technology / Product / Service(s) – Target Arm produces a device, Tular, that enables launch and recovery of both rotary and fixed-wing drones from any moving vehicle, plane, train, truck, ship, autonomously, at speeds greater than 65mph, and even during windy conditions.
Value Proposition – Tular enables users to deploy and recover drones while moving at up to highway speeds, or even during windy conditions. This enables the user to develop systems and business models that have the physical world connected, much like our digital world, while in transit. As such, Tular is dual use for both commercial and military applications.
Demand Drivers – The greatest demand driver for Target Arms’ solution is the need to deploy drones without regard to movement or winds. Examples include package delivery trucks, first responders, oil/gas/energy inspections, and of course the military (where maneuvering is a key component to victory).
The United States Air Force is building systems incorporating Tular for nuclear munitions convoy protection.
Target Arm – Business Model(s) and Competition
Business Model – Direct sales, working with distributors/integrators/partners for both commercial and military users.
Partners – Target Arm has many strategic partners to date: Autonodyne for drone autonomy and flight controls; Valqari for an electronic mailbox to be integrated for a seamless package delivery solution; Greensight for certified and compatible drones; BIB Technologies for installation of Tular for on-demand food services deliveries; Unmanned Systems Operations Group (USOG) for installation of Tular for medical delivery and command/control; Teal Drones for certified and compatible drones; and Lynq Technologies for terminal guidance to/from Tular for drones.
Customers – The United States Air Force is building systems incorporating Tular for nuclear munitions convoy protection. BAE Systems is researching the same for ground mobile defense integration.
Competitive Landscape – Primary competition is the status quo, for users to just keep doing what they’re doing today (for example, package deliverers using drivers in/out of a truck). The only other competitor is Planck, which uses a proprietary rotary wing drone for vertical landing at slow speeds.
Alias Robotics – Recent News
- Target Arm named Most Fundable Company by Pepperdine University Graziadio Business School
- BIB Technologies and Target Arm Form New Strategic Partnership for Food Services Delivery by Drones
- Target Arm Announces the Launch of Tular v3.0 – Drones On-the-Move
- Target Arm Graduates from Endless Frontier Labs Accelerator
- Target Arm Graduate from Air Force Accelerator Powered by Techstars
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