News

Target Partners invests in Dedrone

€2.7 million in growth capital for anti-drone early-warning system

Munich/Kassel, April 28, 2015: Kassel-based startup Dedrone GmbH (www.dedrone.com) today announced it has secured €2.7 million ($2.9 million) in growth capital for the world's first professional civilian drone early-warning and detection system. The funding round was led by Munich-based venture capital firm Target Partners (www.targetpartners.de/en) and also included private investments from successful American entrepreneur Tom Noonan (Internet Security Systems, JouleX) as well as serial entrepreneurs Jörg Lamprecht (Only Solutions, Cobion, Aibotix) and Rene Seeber (Only Solutions, Cobion, JouleX). Founded in 2014 and headed by co-founder and CEO Dr. Ingo Seebach, Dedrone plans to use this infusion of capital to push ahead with the development of the Drone Tracker system, build up an international distribution network and strengthen its team.

"The security market is a multi-billion Euro industry. However, existing systems simply cannot counteract the new threats posed by drones. Dedrone has an experienced, innovative founding team and considerable potential for global growth right from the very start," explained Olaf Jacobi, a partner at Target Partners.

Given the mounting sales of hobby drones, which are estimated at 300,000 units per month, and their increased performance capabilities coupled with falling prices, the potential for misuse is set to grow significantly. This is evidenced by the large number of international incidents that have been reported in recent months, from mysterious drone flights over French nuclear plants to a drone with radioactive material found on Japanese Prime Minister's office roof. As a result, there is a high demand for an efficient system that will protect against such threats. "Security experts around the world have to contend with entirely new challenges posed by civilian drones. Accordingly, we receive inquiries every day from prospective clients from Germany and around the world," stated Dedrone CEO Seebach.

Together with well-known German clients, including prisons, automotive companies and alarm system installers, Dedrone is currently developing the Drone Tracker, which will be first delivered in April.

Drone Incidents: Drone with radioactive material found on Japanese Prime Minister's office roof (http://edition.cnn.com/2015/04/22/asia/japan-prime-minister-rooftop-drone) 'A dozen' drones fly over Paris in latest mystery sighting (http://www.france24.com/en/20150304-dozen-drones-fly-over-paris-latest-sighting-france) Drones smuggle contraband over prison walls (http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/23/us/drones-smuggle-contraband-over-prison-walls.html)

DroneTracker Videos: DroneTracker in action: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xw6KJdnvoC0 Dedrone your Prison: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9yUtECQII-Q

Images Dedrone: http://www.dedrone.com/newsroom Target Partners: http://www.sprachperlen.de/tp

About Dedrone:

Dedrone GmbH has engineered the first professional anti-drone early-warning and identification system for all applications. It is modular in construction, can be integrated in existing alarm systems and works with a state-of-the-art multi-sensor system. The first deliveries will take place in April of this year.

For more information, visit www.dedrone.com.

Press contact Dedrone:

Dedrone GmbH Corporate Communications Otto-Hahn-Straße 31 34253 Lohfelden, Germany Tel.: +49 561 579 847 50 Email: presse@dedrone.com

About Target Partners

With €300 million under management, Target Partners is one of the leading early-stage venture capital firms in Germany. Target Partners invests in new startup and early-stage companies, and supports them with venture capital during their build-out and expansion phases. With many years of experience as managers, entrepreneurs and venture capitalists, the team at Target Partners supports entrepreneurs in developing and marketing products and services, building organizations, raising money and taking companies public in Europe and the United States. For more details: www.targetpartners.de, follow us on Twitter: twitter.com/targetpartners or Facebook: facebook.com/targetpartners.

Press contact Target Partners:

Sprachperlen GmbH Agency for enterprise communication Helena Pröpster Ehrengutstraße 5 80469 Munich, Germany Tel.: +49 89 411 53 199 Email: targetpartners@sprachperlen.de

Join us

We look forward to learning about your venture.

Send deck
80+

Combined years investing in enterprise tech start-ups

40+

Years of combined experience in software development and R&D