Every use case listed in the scenarios targeted by the UAV swarm cloud automation maps to a set of direct and current commercial players and companies who could benefit and many across industries are catching up to the emerging AI trends and deploying applications with LLMs and RAGs. So, explaining the benefits of cloud-based pipelines to continuously analyze drone imagery to build a knowledge base of landscape would not be lost on many of them. But the ideal partner for this venture would be someone who engages deeply from the start so that field tests are not only practical but routine. The value of the software will be better articulated through the voice of the customer rather than the founder and such a partnership will likely be a win-win for both from the get-go.  This article explains not only the selection but the method of engagement with such a partner. 

Drone imagery is popular today in many defense-industry related applications by virtue of remote-operated drones. The use of UAV swarm is however better applied to surveying, remote sensing, disaster preparedness and responses such as wildfires, and those that make use of LiDAR data. Power line and windmill monitoring companies are especially suited for making use of a fleet of drones. Besides, there are over ten LiDAR companies that are public in US and many more across Europe and Asia that make use of a fleet of drones, photogrammetry and LiDAR data. Those that are using simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM), structure-from-motion (SfM), and semantic segmentation with CNNs are possibly building their own knowledge bases, so it would not hurt to show them one that is built in the cloud in incremental, observable and near real-time.  

The right way to build this software is also iterative with stakeholder input. We leverage the agile sprint-based approach to build this software. Keeping a community edition or open source, opens engagement with the partner while drawing developer audience from source code and community platforms, including marketplaces for public clouds and journals, newsletters, podcasts, and social media platforms where we can find contacts and leads. A specific milestone could be pegged as presenting a PoC at AI Infra summit.  

Aside from technical aspect, a winning business plan could target a market that’s both well-defined and large, so this can be an advantage when fundraising or getting the attention of an investor. Polishing the business plan and addressing weakness prevents the investors from having to micromanage – an unhealthy situation. VCs also make it known through social media and other marketing avenues that they are funding startups but in casting a net, it is important to establish a shared reality of success. Consistently proving that the founding idea is going to work will have a snowball effect. While an experienced founder may bank on VC contacts, the first-time founder can dodge an obstacle course of promising leads that go nowhere and may have to rely on angel investors. Pitch-deck and follow-up calls must be rehearsed and never emailed or done offline. Controlling the narrative, reframing the questions, and answering them on our terms are in our hands. Creating a contract might be necessary but it cannot be relied upon. Developing a sales funnel during external engagements is important. From the start, an open-source GitHub for curating ideas and implementations should be made available.