Recognized as the producer of one of the world’s most widely used fixed-wing drones, senseFly, a Parrot Group wholly owned subsidiary, is now under AgEagle Aerial Systems’ wing after a cash and stock transaction valued at US$23 million.

After acquiring MicaSense and Measure earlier this year, senseFly’s acquisition seems like another step for AgEagle toward offering a complete drone solution to customers and to empower them “to thrive and prosper in the inevitable drone age, today and long into the future”. Brandon Torres Declet, CEO of AgEagle, thinks now is the time for end-users to invest in drones as “there’s no need to wait anymore to make real investments in drone technology and deploying it at scale”.

“We are very pleased to welcome senseFly to the fast-growing AgEagle family and look forward to integrating its many strengths with the power and performance of AgEagle’s proprietary sensor and software solutions to effectively meet the needs of customers globally,” Declet said. “We would also like to extend our deepest thanks to Gilles Labossiere, senseFly’s Chief Executive Officer, for his leadership at senseFly and the instrumental role he played in the acquisition process. This is an exciting inflection point for the AgEagle and senseFly teams.”

Labossiere will resign as CEO of senseFly, and Michael O’Sullivan, who previously served as the Company’s Head of Global Marketing, will be appointed as Managing Director of the new AgEagle subsidiary. All other senseFly employees will retain their current responsibilities. For Parrot, this isn’t a loss, as the additional cash and lower operational expends will allow the company to focus its expertise and resources on its professional quadcopter drone equipment and drone data analysis software activities, while also driving its growth and industry standing.

“We trust that senseFly and the eBee line of fixed-wing drones will continue to deliver tangible value, benefits, and efficiencies to AgEagle’s customers and business partners well into the future,” Parrot founder and Chief Executive Officer, Henri Seydoux, commented. “With the expanded capabilities of the ANAFI line of professional drones and the Pix4D software suites, Parrot will continue to address its core market segments: 3D Mapping, Surveying and Inspection, Agriculture, and Defense and Security.”

At the Commercial UAV Expo Americas in September 2021, Declet promised “a lot more announcements, and exciting products and solutions coming from AgEagle”, and it certainly has been a promising year with all these big acquisitions. Let’s see what the future holds for AgEagle and the drone industry.