A crime occurs. Someone calls 911. Drones arrive within three minutes to help catch the suspects.
This sounds like something out of science fiction movie, but it is actually what Aerodome, a New-York based startup that provides automated drone response system for police and fire departments, is rolling out to five police departments over the coming months.
“Our belief is that replacing outdated, dangerous, inefficient and expensive helicopter-based air support programs will allow public safety agencies to reduce crime and save lives in a way that was previously unimaginable,” Rahul Sidhu, Aerodome’s CEO and cofounder, told Insider.
After seven months in stealth, Aerodome recently closed a $6.5 million seed round led by Andreessen Horowitz and 2048 VC. Other investors include boxer and social media star Jake Paul’s venture firm, Ring founder Jamie Siminoff and entrepreneur Nikita Bier. (The valuation was not disclosed.)
“It’s rare to see this kind of founder-market fit, let alone from a founder with a previous exit in this domain,” Bier told Insider.
Sidhu and cofounder Kenaniah Cerny were previously founders of SPIDR Tech, a customer service interface for law enforcement, which was acquired for an undisclosed sum by Versaterm Public Safety in 2021.
Sidhu is currently a reserve officer for the Redondo Beach Police Department and was a full-time officer for two years.
It was in 2020, with much of the police force out sick because of COVID, Sidhu first got the idea for Aerodome.
“We had to find a way if we couldn’t send a cop, could we send a drone to at least triage and determine if we needed a patrol officer on scene?” Sidhu said.
Early on, the drones were also able to help catch a robbery suspect as they darted into narrow side streets during a Redondo Beach test, according to Sidhu.
“The drone was able to catch them within minutes, whereas a helicopter would’ve had to dispatch and fly over and the officers wouldn’t have been able to see them,” Sidhu said. “That showed us that this is just as capable in that sense as a traditional helicopter, but way faster and easier to dispatch.”
If this all sounds too dystopian, Sidhu emphasizes the drones are solely designed to respond to 911 calls.
“What we’re trying to do is make safer communities,” Sidhu says. “These devices aren’t built or used for surveillance. That’s not the point of what we’re doing.”
Competitors to Aerodome include Motorola, Dronesense, and Skydio, but those companies are more focused on software than the all-in-one package Aerodome is offering.
Aside from responding to crime, Sidhu also says Aerodome will also eventually be able to detect wildfires and alert authorities moments after smoke appears.
“The idea is that you want to detect a fire within five minutes of the smoke showing so that you can stop it from becoming a five acre fire,” Sidhu said.
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