Propeller Aero offers an end-to-end solution for drone-based site surveying—combining precision hardware (AeroPoints ground control points), photogrammetry processing, and a cloud platform for interactive 3D/2D mapping, volumetric measurements, temporal analysis, and data reporting. It targets construction, mining, aggregates, landfills, and civil engineering projects globally.
Founded in May 2014 in Sydney by Francis Vierboom and Rory San Miguel, originally under Propeller Aerobotics Pty Ltd.
After incubator and accelerator participation, it expanded from 25 staff in 2017 to ~250–500 today, with offices in Sydney, Denver, Manila, and Amsterdam.
Funding milestones:
2016: US $3.1M seed round backed by Blackbird Ventures and DJI
2018: Series A at US $10M led by Blackbird and Sequoia China
2020: Series B raising US $26M with investors including Blackbird, Costanoa, and Acce.
Total funding: approx. US $42M (some estimates US $32M).
AeroPoints: Smart, dual‑frequency GPS ground control units enabling cm-level accuracy during drone flights
Drone-integrated platform: Processed high-resolution 2D and 3D maps with dynamic site analytics, volumetric and takeoff tools, design overlays, and safety tagging
Share and collaborate: View-only mode, fly-through videos, timelapse, exports (CSV, orthophotos, point clouds), and WMTS/GIS integrations
View-only sharing (2019): Improves control over external access.
Advanced visual exports: Fly-through and timelapse video generation, exported maps, CSV/PDF analytics.
Mobile field support: Enables measurements and data access directly in the field.
Early innovation: Built by founders hands-on with drones pre-boom, supported by incubators (Cicada, Startmate)
Frugal growth strategy: Raised $5M+ before spending wisely on team and product.
Adoption: Thousands of global enterprises in mining, construction, aggregates, and landfills. Named users include Komatsu partnership for enterprise-level drone mapping
Scale: 40K+ active sites, 80K+ users in 120+ countries
