An Aerodyne drone
Malaysia’s global drone services company Aerodyne Group has agreed to acquire a principal stake in Malaysia-based AI and data analytics company Synapse Innovation for an undisclosed amount.
Aerodyne expects the investment to “supercharge” its AI and data analytics capabilities and strengthen the technology support for its international operations, spanning 35 countries.
Together, Aerodyne and Synapse will develop the next-generation drone data intelligence platform, coupled with smart nested autonomous drone solutions.
CEO Dr Afnizanfaizal Abdullah, a prominent AI scientist in Malaysia, will continue to lead Synapse and remain a business shareholder.
Aerodyne Group Founder and CEO Kamarul A Muhamed said, “This investment into Synapse is the first of many future M&As focusing on enhancing the breadth and depth of our second data technology pillar. Aerodyne Group also intends to accelerate Synapse’s growth plans exponentially under its technology ecosystem building agenda to champion Malaysia’s technology.”
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Headquartered in Johor, Synapse focuses on designing and developing machine learning algorithms for cloud-based predictive analytics services for various sectors, including agriculture, infrastructure and oil and gas. Its services cover big data analytics, automation in data processing, and mobile-based applications.
According to Abdullah, being an Aerodyne-backed company will help accelerate Synapse’s scale-up plans to grow its operations from 30 data scientists to 500 AI engineers and data scientists within two to three years.
Established in 2014, Aerodyne Group is a DT3 (drone-tech, data-tech and digital transformation) company. It uses Artificial Intelligence as an enabling technology for large-scale data operations, analytics and process optimisation. The group employs over 700 drone professionals to operate in the UAS services sector. It claims to have managed more than 560,000 infrastructure assets and surveyed over 380,000 km of power infrastructure across 35 countries globally.
In May 2021, Aerodyne announced a strategic investment from a consortium of Japanese investors, comprising Real Tech Fund, Kobashi Holdings and ACSL.
Two years earlier, the group secured US$30 million in a Series B investment round, led by InterVest/Kejora Ventures, with participation from VentureTECH, Gobi Partners and 500 Startups. This round was extended with an investment from North Summit Capital, Arc Ventures, and Leave a Nest in February 2020.
In December 2019, Aerodyne acquired a controlling stake in the services business of Measure UAS, an aerial intelligence company in the US.
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