Boeing HorizonX Ventures into Unmanned Flight

Boeing has announced its investment in Kittyhawk, a San Francisco, Calif.-based company offering a unified approach to the safe operation of commercial Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS).

Kittyhawk's technology will support development of a UAS Traffic Management System (UTM) that enables piloted and autonomous air vehicles to safely coexist.

"When paired with the broad portfolio of complementary data service offerings within Boeing, Kittyhawk is poised to help us shape the future of safe autonomous flight," said Brian Schettler, managing director of Boeing HorizonX Ventures.

"We are excited to explore new capabilities made possible through foresight, expertise and a focus on holistic solutions that support the safe integration of unmanned systems into the national airspace."

Kittyhawk is partnering with Boeing subsidiary Jeppesen to expand unmanned operations by participating in the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) Low Altitude Authorization and Notification Capability (LAANC).

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LAANC is a collaborative effort to create UTM processes that integrate unmanned aircraft, cargo delivery and beyond visual line of sight operations safely into the airspace.

"Boeing's world-renowned aviation expertise and resources will help Kittyhawk continue to mature our enterprise offerings," said Joshua Ziering, founder and chief pilot of Kittyhawk.

Boeing HorizonX Ventures participated in this seed funding round led by Bonfire Ventures, with participation by Freestyle Capital.

The Boeing HorizonX Ventures investment portfolio is made up of companies specializing in technologies for aerospace and manufacturing innovations, including autonomous systems, energy storage, advanced materials, augmented reality systems and Internet of Things connectivity.

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