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More fruits of UK-Japan collaboration as drone firm gets multi-million pound Mitsui backing

London-based drone startup Sky-Futures has sealed $4m (approx. £3.1m) in funding from Japanese giant Mitsui as part of another investment tie-up to fall out of Theresa May’s visit to Japan.

The partnership will see Sky-Futures, which provides industrial inspection services with drones, receive funding and partner with Mitsui to provide inspections and other services to the Japanese firm’s clients across a range of sectors.

Founded in 2009 in Hayes, Sky-Futures has pioneered the adoption of drones across a range of industrial contexts and sectors, providing both software and training services to emergency services and enterprise clients.

As part of the Mitsui deal the firm will support the use of drones in the energy and marine sectors in a move which chief executive, Jamies Harrison, said would bring industrial drone inspection into the mainstream.

The use of drones in such contexts has long been touted as a cheaper and safer way to carry out surveys and inspections on major industrial sites such as oil rigs and power stations, with the UK set to become a world leader in the field.

Harrison believes the demand for the technology is only going to continue rising as the addition of AI and machine learning tech makes drone inspections even more desirable.

“Demand for drone survey software is rocketing as a result of the shift to AI and machine learning that is fundamentally changing the way inspection is done.”

“Our technology enables tracking and monitoring of highly complex infrastructure over its lifetime, automatically detecting defects and saving precious engineering time. We’re excited to be working with Mitsui to expand our global reach.”

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