The Future of Drones is Fully Autonomous
ENGLEWOOD, Colo., Jan. 13, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — XTI Aerospace, Inc. (NASDAQ: XTIA) (“XTI” or the “Company”), a pioneer in advanced Vertical Takeoff and Landing (“VTOL”), Powered- Lift aircraft solutions, today announced that it has signed a non-binding Memorandum of Understanding (“MOU”) to acquire a 30% fully-diluted equity interest in ReadyMonitor, LLC, a leading AI-powered, autonomous Drone-as-a-Service (“DaaS”) company, which is expected to close this Q1 2025, with the option to acquire the remaining 70% of ReadyMonitor within 12 months (the “Transaction”).
ReadyMonitor is the recipient of a first-of-its-kind Federal Aviation Administration (“FAA”) Certificate of Waiver of 14 CFR § 107.31, which is the requirement for “visual line of sight for aircraft operations.” This Waiver allows for small, unmanned aircraft (drones) to be launched and operated by ReadyMonitor without a human present, beyond the direct visual line of sight (“BVLOS”) of the remote pilot in command. DroneNerds, the largest unmanned aerial vehicle (“UAV”) dealer by volume of units sold in the United States, which currently owns more than 40% of the outstanding equity interests of ReadyMonitor, is supporting the Transaction, and will continue to work with ReadyMonitor and XTI providing customer access and service, and supplying AI-powered, autonomous drones.
ReadyMonitor was co-founded by Brandon Torres Declet and Jesse Stepler, proven leaders in the drone industry. Mr. Torres Declet is former CEO and Chairman of the Board of Unusual Machines (NYSE: UMAC), a leader in First Person View (“FPV”) drones, a spin-off of Red Cat, producer of defense focused, technology-driven drones, and former CEO of AgEagle Aerial Systems, an industry leader in full-stack drone solutions. Mr. Stepler is former Co-Founder and President of Measure, an early, leading Drone-as-a-Service provider in the United States, which was acquired by AgEagle Aerial Systems.