DEPO Ventures invests in a startup that uses its technology to prevent aircraft collisions

These damages cost the aviation industry billions of dollars a year. The total costs also include aircraft downtime or rebooking of tickets, which accompanies demanding maintenance operations.  At an early stage, the startup receives an investment nearly $ 500,000 from the DEPO Ventures angel fund, the prestigious Berkley SkyDeck Accelerator and other angel investors from Asia, Europe, and the USA.

“For us, investing in Evitado is another bet on the trend of automation and robotics in the industry through a combination of computer vision technology and artificial intelligence. The Evitado team comes with a solution that can be used in many sectors, especially in the automotive and heavy industries.” says DEPO Ventures partner Michal Ciffra.

A solution that will affect the entire aviation industry

The German startup based in the USA solves the problem by using a high-tech sensor system that can be temporarily installed on an airplane or towing vehicles. The sophisticated system monitors the area around the aircraft in real-time with a 360-degree field of view and alerts the operator in the event of a high risk of collision. The object detection range is 100 meters with an accuracy level of up to 10 cm. The system is designed to move aircraft of any size in production, maintenance, or airport operating environment. Evitado's technology is focused on the movement of large assets and can serve other industries and complex environments.

“After the interview with other startups from the DEPO Ventures portfolio, we were excited. We have great references that their Grouport fund and Depo VCs are very active and help their companies succeed. We look forward to their experience in building a society that will change the world.”  Says one of the founders of Evitado, Alex Kasinec.

Getting more deals

Evitado’s founders Andrew Moakes and Alex Kasinec are at the beginning, but they can already celebrate great success. Their startup already made it to the most prestigious acceleration programs, such as the Berkeley SkyDeck or Singapore Aviation Accelerator. In addition, they received grants worth around € 450,000 and have developed the technology in the field with Airbus and Lufthansa Technik. There are currently several units in operations with launch customers helping move aircraft more safely.

“Since we invest at a very early stage, the quality of the founders was an important decision factor for us. We have identified a relatively rare combination of knowledge of technology, entrepreneurship, and global ambitions. That's why they were able to go through our relatively demanding evaluation process and also succeed in the prestigious American accelerator SkyDeck,” closes Michal Ciffra.