Imagine Aerial
Imagine Aerial is a Syracuse-based UAS and AI data services company providing drone-based infrastructure inspection, damage assessment, and emergency response data for energy utilities, engineering firms, government clients, and defense agencies across 28 states.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2019
- HeadquartersSyracuse, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Imagine Aerial does
Imagine Aerial is a Syracuse, New York-based drone services and AI data technology company specializing in infrastructure inspection, damage assessment, and disaster preparedness. The company deploys unmanned aerial systems (UAS) equipped with specialty sensors to capture aerial imagery, video, and structured data, which it processes through AI-powered computer vision algorithms and distributes as actionable outputs to client workflows used by engineers, insurance appraisers, and storm assessment teams. Its core offering is a drone and AI infrastructure assessment platform that, per the company, has scanned nearly one billion square feet of infrastructure across 28 states for more than 300 customers.
The company serves enterprise infrastructure owners in three primary segments: heavy infrastructure (energy utilities, engineering firms), government resilience and municipal clients, and defense/dual-use technology customers reached through Air Force Research Labs and Department of Defense accelerator programs. Revenue is generated through project-based professional services contracts, with emergency response engagements for catastrophic events such as the 2019 California wildfires (the largest UAS mobilization in the world, 150+ pilots mobilized for PG&E) and 2023 EF-3 tornado response in New York State representing notable demand drivers. Go-to-market is direct enterprise engagement, enabled by a distributed nationwide network of FAA-certified Part 107 pilots, sensos, and visual observers that allows rapid mobilization across geographies. Pricing is not publicly disclosed; customers are directed to contact the company directly for quotes.
The business operates as a private, founder-controlled corporation led by Gavin Snyder as Founder and CEO. Capital to date has come entirely from non-dilutive sources including AFRL Commercialization Academy participation, Griffiss Institute incubator funding, and the 2026 RISE Blue Ridge Regional Resilience Challenge, with no disclosed institutional venture capital or private equity investment. Headcount is reported at 1-10 employees.
Imagine Aerial firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Imagine Aerial
- Legal name
- Imagine Aerial, Inc.
- Website
- https://iaflight.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2019
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Imagine Aerial is a Syracuse-based UAS and AI data services company providing drone-based infrastructure inspection, damage assessment, and emergency response data for energy utilities, engineering firms, government clients, and defense agencies across 28 states.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Imagine Aerial industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Drone Infrastructure Inspection Services
- NAICS
- Computer Systems Design and Related Services (54151)
- SIC
- Services-Computer Integrated Systems Design (7373)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Aerial Robotics (Drones & UAV Autonomy) (HDAAAIAG)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Autonomy Software, AI & Mission Management (UAS/UXV) (IMABAIAH)
Keywords
Where Imagine Aerial is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Syracuse
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Imagine Aerial business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Drone and AI Data Services for Infrastructure Inspection: Imagine Aerial provides UAS (drone) and AI data technology services for infrastructure assessment. Services include rapid acquisition and processing of infrastructure data using drones equipped with specialty sensors, with data distributed to client workflows including engineers, insurance appraisers, and assessment teams. Revenue appears to be project-based, mobilized for specific inspection or damage assessment engagements.
- Emergency Response and Disaster Preparedness Services: Contracted services for acquiring and providing aerial assessment data following catastrophic events such as EF-3 tornadoes and wildfires. Data acquired by sensors mounted on UAS is distributed to engineers, insurance appraisers and storm assessment teams to aid in rapid recovery.
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels4 records
Imagine Aerial product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Imagine Aerial provides UAS (drone) and AI data technology services for infrastructure assessment. Using drones equipped with specialty sensors, the company safely and rapidly acquires and processes large volumes of infrastructure data — imagery, video, and structured datasets — and distributes the resulting intelligence directly to client workflows including engineers, insurance appraisers, and storm assessment teams. Service lines span routine infrastructure inspection and large-scale emergency mobilization for damage assessment following catastrophic events such as EF-3 tornadoes and California wildfires.
Product overview
Imagine Aerial offers a unified drone-based data collection and AI analysis platform for infrastructure inspection and resilience applications. The company operates drone fleets equipped with specialty sensors to capture aerial imagery, video, and structured data, which is then processed through AI algorithms to generate actionable intelligence. Data is distributed directly to client workflows including engineers, insurance appraisers, and storm assessment teams. The platform has been applied to infrastructure inspection, EF-3 tornado damage assessment, and California wildfire response operations across 28 states.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Drone & AI Infrastructure Assessment Platform A UAS (drone) and AI-powered data platform used for infrastructure inspection, damage assessment, and disaster preparedness. The company deploys drone-mounted specialty sensors to safely and rapidly acquire and process large volumes of infrastructure data, distributing actionable results to engineers, insurance appraisers, and assessment teams.
- Emergency Response and Disaster Assessment Services Contracted aerial assessment services following catastrophic events such as EF-3 tornadoes and California wildfires. Data acquired by sensors mounted on UAS is distributed to engineers, insurance appraisers, and storm assessment teams to aid in rapid recovery, with the largest deployment mobilizing 150+ UAS pilots and 150 sensors for PG&E.
- Heavy Infrastructure Inspection Services Project-based drone inspection services for heavy infrastructure owners including energy utilities (NextEra, Iberdrola, PG&E), engineering firms (Stantec, Jacobs), and municipal infrastructure clients (Oswego), supporting routine inspection and regulatory compliance mandates.
Quantifiable outcome
- Nearly 1 billion square feet of infrastructure scanned
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use Imagine Aerial
Customer profileNamed customers9 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Imagine Aerial technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
AI capability5 records
Feature4 records
Imagine Aerial partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Four partnerships are on record, tiered core.
- RISE Resilience InnovationscoreImagine Aerial was selected as semi-finalist in the 2026 RISE Blue Ridge Regional Resilience Challenge, administered by RISE Resilience Innovations with funding from HUD and the Virginia DHCD. The challenge focuses on infrastructure resilience and disaster preparedness technologies. Semi-finalists receive up to $50,000 initial funding, with finalists eligible for awards up to $500,000 each.
- Air Force Research Labs (AFRL) / DoDcoreImagine Aerial was selected for the AFRL Commercialization Academy 2020 cohort, one of 8 firms to work with AFRL and DoD to utilize government Intellectual Property to enhance speed to market. The company also participated in the 2023 HUSTLE DoD Defense Accelerator as a finalist, developing dual-use technology adaptable for public and military applications.
- Griffiss InstitutecoreThe Griffiss Institute, in partnership with Air Force Research Labs, selected Imagine Aerial for the 2020 AFRL Commercialization Academy cohort. The institute supports innovative tech startups in commercialization efforts and defense technology development.
- Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E)coreImagine Aerial CEO Gavin Snyder was selected to provide UAS piloting services for PrecisionHawk and PG&E drone teams during the 2019 California Wildfire Response Inspections. This was part of the largest UAS mobilization in the world, involving 150+ UAS pilots and 150 sensos. The deployment responded to state and federal court mandates following the Camp fire.
Scale indicators4 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Imagine Aerial competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- PrecisionHawk: PrecisionHawk is a direct peer — a drone-based aerial intelligence and data analytics company focused on infrastructure, agriculture, and energy inspection. PrecisionHawk was a co-deployment partner with Imagine Aerial on the 2019 PG&E wildfire response, serving the same customer with comparable UAS inspection workflows.
- Percepto: Percepto provides autonomous drone-in-a-box inspection solutions for industrial sites, utilities, and critical infrastructure. The company competes head-to-head with Imagine Aerial in the autonomous aerial inspection of heavy infrastructure with AI-driven anomaly detection and data distribution to engineering workflows.
- Cyberhawk Innovations: Cyberhawk is a drone-based inspection and visual data management provider serving oil and gas, utilities, and infrastructure owners globally. It is highly comparable to Imagine Aerial in offering aerial inspection services with engineered deliverables distributed to asset owners and engineering firms.
- DroneDeploy: DroneDeploy is a drone data platform used for mapping, inspections, and asset management across construction, energy, and infrastructure. It is directly comparable to Imagine Aerial's drone + AI workflow product, providing software-enabled aerial data capture and processing for enterprise infrastructure customers.
- Measure (USOG): Measure (now part of USOG) operates as a drone-as-a-service provider for enterprise infrastructure, inspection, and emergency response. It shares Imagine Aerial's service-led model, distributed pilot network approach, and focus on regulated industrial customers in utilities and infrastructure.
- Sharper Shape (SharperAI): Sharper Shape (now SharperAI) provides drone-based inspections and AI analytics for utility infrastructure, including transmission and distribution assets. It overlaps directly with Imagine Aerial on utility inspection use cases and AI-driven damage assessment workflows.
Broad incumbents
- NV5 Global: NV5 Global provides geospatial, engineering, and infrastructure asset management services, including aerial surveying and inspection. It is a broad incumbent offering overlapping capabilities to Imagine Aerial's infrastructure assessment customers, particularly through its geospatial data acquisition and analytics practice.
- Skydio: Skydio is a leading US drone manufacturer offering autonomous aerial platforms with inspection and mapping software for enterprise and public safety. As a drone OEM with software pushing up the stack, it is an adjacent incumbent whose product direction directly competes with Imagine Aerial's service offerings.
- DJI: DJI is the dominant global commercial drone manufacturer, with enterprise inspection products and an SDK ecosystem. While DJI is a hardware incumbent rather than a services peer, its enterprise platforms and partner network directly overlap with the toolset Imagine Aerial deploys for infrastructure inspection.
Emerging players
- Pix4D: Pix4D offers photogrammetry software that converts drone imagery into maps, 3D models, and inspection-ready outputs. While software-only rather than service-led, Pix4D competes for the AI/data processing layer that Imagine Aerial's inspection value proposition rests on, and is increasingly sold into utility and infrastructure inspection workflows.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Imagine Aerial social profiles
Digital presenceImagine Aerial financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Imagine Aerial leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
Imagine Aerial funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds2 records
Investors2 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Imagine Aerial M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Imagine Aerial
What does Imagine Aerial do?
Imagine Aerial provides UAS (drone) and AI data technology services for infrastructure assessment. Using drones equipped with specialty sensors, the company safely and rapidly acquires and processes large volumes of infrastructure data — imagery, video, and structured datasets — and distributes the resulting intelligence directly to client workflows including engineers, insurance appraisers, and storm assessment teams. Service lines span routine infrastructure inspection and large-scale emergency mobilization for damage assessment following catastrophic events such as EF-3 tornadoes and California wildfires.
Is Imagine Aerial a public or private company?
Imagine Aerial is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Imagine Aerial founded?
Imagine Aerial was founded in 2019. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Imagine Aerial based?
Imagine Aerial is headquartered in Syracuse, United States, in the North America region.
How does Imagine Aerial make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Drone and AI Data Services for Infrastructure Inspection is the primary driver. The others are emergency Response and Disaster Preparedness Services.
Who are Imagine Aerial's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are PrecisionHawk, Percepto, Cyberhawk Innovations, DroneDeploy, Measure (USOG) and Sharper Shape (SharperAI). Broad incumbents are NV5 Global, Skydio and DJI. Pix4D is listed as an emerging player.
Does Imagine Aerial have an API?
No public API is recorded for Imagine Aerial.
What industry is Imagine Aerial in?
Imagine Aerial's product category is Drone Infrastructure Inspection Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HDAAAIAG, Aerial Robotics (Drones & UAV Autonomy), with a secondary code of IMABAIAH, Autonomy Software, AI & Mission Management (UAS/UXV). Its NAICS code is 54151 and its SIC code is 7373.