Company Name: Dronehub
Company HQ: Rzeszów, Poland
Team Size: 15
Focus: Docking stations for drones
Interview with: Vadym Melnyk, Founder and CEO
 
Tell us about your company:
We are inventors and passionate about robotics. We believe that possible human error can be eliminated from processes like surveillance, monitoring, or package delivery by designing systems in a way that ultimately limits the human factor. Dronehub is an ecosystem of autonomous drones, ground infrastructure, and AI software designed to fully automate monitoring and data collection. Our hardware solutions make it possible to deploy drone services in any terrain and in all-weather scenarios. We are the first company in the world that can put a hub on a boat so that the drones that use our system can maximize the monitoring of an offshore wind powerplant. We are the only manufacturer in the world that offers monitoring, inspection, measurement systems, cargo transport systems, and mobile ground infrastructure. We also make unique, workflow-based software, which enables us to spend minutes (compared to days) to implement customer requests to our drone data. 
 
When and how did your company start?
In 2015, we began as Cervi Robotics, which provided consulting, prototyping and solution implementation services focused on robotics, uncrewed aerial vehicles and the Internet of Things (IoT.)  In 2020, we went through rebranding by narrowing down our specialization and completely switching to building only automated drone systems. The decision to change our focus was caused by the market interest for extensive, modern, and unique drone systems dedicated to inspection and monitoring. 

Where did the idea for your startup come from?
Dronehub helps industries automate data collection to inform business decisions. We replace hazardous man-hours with a solution that collects intelligent drone data in a fully autonomous way. Dronehub is an ecosystem of autonomous drones, a Dronehub station, and AI-based software designed to optimize monitoring and generate real-time insights.

Who is your ideal customer?
Our ideal customer (or in general, a target market) can be defined as autonomous surveillance. We are targeting companies that have large terrains/infrastructures and where human monitoring is not efficient. Over the years, we have defined five sectors for Dronehub: oil and gas, energy market, railway, security, and critical infrastructure. All of them have different sales cycles and require different partners.
 
What can we expect from your company in the near future?
In the context of the American market, we assume that in 2023 we will not only have a company registered in the U.S., but we will also be able to show the effectiveness and innovation of our Dronehub system after their installation in the U.S. This will help us to demonstrate in a practical way the application and efficiency of our system to American customers.

Why are you excited about GENIUS NY?
Participation in the GENIUS NY program is of great importance to us on two levels. Number one, these nearly three months that we’ve spent here as members of the 6th cohort gave us an injection of knowledge, practical advice and contacts that will translate into the development of our business, and the effectiveness of our activities both in the U.S. and in Europe. Number two, we feel honored that out of so many companies from around the world that applied for participation in the program, it was our vision, our development idea and our achievements so far that allowed us to get to the top-five finalists. It is a confirmation that the path we chose earlier is the right one. And this motivates us to keep working hard on the development of Dronehub.

What are you most looking forward to while staying in Syracuse?
We want to win. It is our goal to convince the judges that Dronehub is destined for success. Of course, we appreciate and fully respect the other four startups that are competing with us for the grand prize. Each of them are amazing, have their own ideas for development, and present well. Competition aspect aside, I believe that a program like GENIUS NY is of great importance for the development of the entire UAV industry. During these three months, we saw the great ideas our colleagues from the other four companies have, how much work and thought they put in for their companies and, at the same time, the entire UAV sector to develop. Regardless of which company wins—although I strongly believe that our concept will win first place—we will definitely win together for the UAV industry.

What will you do with the GENIUS funds?
The grand prize will allow us to develop Dronehub structures in the U.S. We want to use this money to create a dynamic and effective sales team, as well as to intensify promotional activities. We are confident that selecting Dronehub as the grand prize winner of the 6th GENIUS NY will also bring many benefits to New York and the tech industry across the U.S. Certainly, building a highly recognizable brand in the U.S. will be supported by the presence of our hubs here in New York State. This will allow us to organize presentations for specific clients as well as organize demo days for the general public and the media. We plan to spend money hiring engineers and local tech talent to kick off and start growing in the U.S. market. The money will also support us in moving part of the manufacturing and assembling to the U.S. If we win the grand prize, we will also be able to provide our Polish services to the U.S. market, which will transfer its experience and knowledge to the U.S. and in New York state.