What Nova does

Nova (legal entity Hummingbird Drones Inc., DBA Nova Software Company Inc. and Nova Maps) is a Victoria, British Columbia-based SaaS company founded in 2015 by former wildland firefighters. It operates a cloud-based drone mapping, data analytics, and live video streaming platform — built on AWS infrastructure with TypeScript/React and integrated with the MapBox API — that converts drone-captured imagery into orthomosaics, georeferenced PDF maps, panoramas, video layers, and AI-derived thermal and color-anomaly intelligence. Its core IP is a proprietary AI hotspot detection model trained on millions of heat signatures (claimed 98% accuracy, sensor-agnostic), complemented by a browser-based Colorfinder anomaly detector and a Live Stream add-on for real-time aerial video. The product suite is sold through a freemium self-serve tier (Lite, $0), mid and professional tiers (Essentials $45/mo, Pro $95/mo, billed annually), and three a-la-carte add-ons (Live Stream $100/mo, Hotspots $210/mo, Colorfinder $20/mo), with custom enterprise contracts negotiated via direct sales.

The company targets public-safety and resource-management verticals — Fire Rescue, Wildland Fire, Emergency Response, Law Enforcement, and Resource Management — with named agency customers including CAL FIRE, Los Angeles Fire Department, Ventura County Fire Department, Tucson Fire Department, North Carolina Forest Service, Western Wake Fire Rescue, and McDowell County EMS. It distributes via self-serve web onboarding (app.mapnova.com), inside-sales demo bookings, and an enterprise field-sales motion with up to 50% travel, anchored in 25+ agency/department logos and SOC-2 Type-2 security certification with US/Canada data residency. Operating geographies span Canada, the United States, New Zealand, and Australia. In November 2024, Nova closed a funding round with NorthX Climate Tech, and continues to invest in technical interoperability with field-standard tools (Avenza, CALTopo/SAR Topo, Team Awareness Kit).

Name

Nova

Legal name

Hummingbird Drones Inc.

Website

https://www.mapnova.com

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Nova (Hummingbird Drones Inc.) is a Victoria, BC-based SaaS company founded in 2015 that builds cloud drone-mapping software — orthomosaics, live streaming, and AI hotspot and color-anomaly detection — used primarily by fire, EMS, emergency response, law enforcement, and resource-management agencies across North America, New Zealand, and Australia.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Drone Mapping Software

NAICS

Software Publishers (513210), Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services (5182)

SIC

Services-Prepackaged Software (7372), Services-Computer Integrated Systems Design (7373)

akta.pro primary industry

Remote Workstations & Virtual Desktops for Media (GPU VDI, secure access) (MPAHANAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Cloud Video Surveillance (VSaaS) Setup & Management (HSAHACAE), Enterprise/Creator Video Hosting & OTT SaaS Platforms (MPACAAAL)

Keywords

• Drone mapping software
• Public safety GIS
• Aerial data analytics
• Thermal hotspot detection
• Orthomosaic generation

Headquarters

HQ city

Victoria

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Operations

Revenue model

1. SaaS Subscriptions: Subscription-based SaaS revenue with tiered pricing (Lite free, Essentials $45/mo, Pro $95/mo) billed annually with 25% savings. Base platform includes orthomosaics, PDF maps, panoramas, video layers, workspace creation, and collaboration.
2. Add-on Modules: Additional revenue from optional add-ons: Live Stream ($100/mo), Hotspots AI detection ($210/mo), and Colorfinder ($20/mo). These are add-on features that enhance base subscriptions.
3. Enterprise Licensing: Custom enterprise solutions with dedicated onboarding, hands-on training, live support, and custom pricing negotiated via sales team.
4. Professional Services: Support Services including onboarding, training, and onsite work as separately priced services in Order Forms for enterprise customers.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Nova offers a cloud-based SaaS platform that turns drone-captured images, video, and thermal data into shareable maps and live intelligence for public safety and resource management teams. The platform includes orthomosaic generation, georeferenced PDF maps, panoramic capture, collaborative workspaces, and optional AI-powered add-ons for live streaming, hotspot detection (98% accuracy), and color anomaly detection. Customers range from individual operators on a free Lite tier to large agencies on custom-priced Enterprise contracts with dedicated onboarding and support.

Product overview

Nova is a cloud-based SaaS drone mapping platform designed for public safety and resource management. The core platform includes Lite (free), Essentials ($45/month), and Pro ($95/month) subscription tiers, all providing orthomosaic generation, PDF map creation, panoramic capture, and collaborative sharing. Three optional add-ons extend functionality: Live Stream ($100/month) for real-time video streaming, Hotspots ($210/month) for AI-powered thermal detection, and Colorfinder ($20/month) for color anomaly detection. The platform is offered as industry-specific solutions for Fire Rescue, Wildland Fire, Emergency Response, Law Enforcement, and Resource Management, with a custom Enterprise tier available for large organizations.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Live Stream: Real-time video streaming add-on for drone feeds with secure link sharing, telemetry data, and automatic recording.
• Hotspots
• Colorfinder

Products and services

• Live Stream Add-on Standalone add-on module enabling real-time encrypted drone video streaming to any device, with live telemetry data, geo-referenced flight view, and automatic cloud recording and playback. Priced at $100/month billed annually and sold separately from base subscriptions.
• Hotspots Add-on Standalone add-on module providing AI-powered thermal hotspot detection trained on millions of urban and wildland hotspots to achieve 98% accuracy, with 2D and 3D heat visualization and compatibility with any IR sensor and drone. Priced at $210/month.
• Colorfinder Add-on Standalone add-on module that analyzes every pixel of images and video frames to detect color anomalies invisible to the human eye, with accurate geospatial location for search and rescue operations. Priced at $20/month and processed locally without uploading.
• Nova Enterprise Solution Custom-priced enterprise deployment of the Nova drone mapping platform with dedicated onboarding, hands-on training, live support, and options for local data hosting for organizations that want to host on their own servers.

Quantifiable outcome

• 98% hotspot detection accuracy
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration6 records

AI capability5 records

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Avenza MapscoreTechnology or IntegrationGeoreferenced PDF maps generated in Nova are compatible with Avenza Maps for field use. QR codes enable easy loading of maps into the Avenza platform for offline navigation by field crews.
• CALTopo / SAR TopocoreTechnology or IntegrationNova integrates with CALTopo and SAR Topo for search and rescue operations. Import lines, points, polygons from SAR Topo and export PDF maps back to the platform for coordinated search operations.
• AWS (Amazon Web Services)coreTechnology or IntegrationCloud infrastructure provider powering Nova's SaaS platform with cloud hosting for the mapping, data analytics, and live streaming platform.
• StripecoreTechnology or IntegrationPayment processor for subscription billing, add-on purchases, and transaction processing. PCI-DSS compliant payment infrastructure.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• DroneDeploy: DroneDeploy is a leading cloud-based drone mapping and analytics SaaS platform serving construction, agriculture, and increasingly public safety. It directly overlaps with Nova's orthomosaic generation, mapping, and analytics offering and competes for the same enterprise drone software budget.
• Pix4D: Pix4D provides photogrammetry software that converts drone imagery into orthomosaics, point clouds, and 3D models. It is one of the most widely used drone mapping tools globally and competes directly with Nova's core orthomosaic and mapping capabilities for professional users.
• PrecisionHawk: PrecisionHawk provides drone-based data collection and analytics for industries including energy, agriculture, and government. Its software stack for processing drone imagery and aerial analytics directly competes with Nova's mapping and analytics platform.
• AirData UAV: AirData UAV is a widely used drone flight management, data analysis, and compliance platform serving individual pilots, enterprises, and public agencies. It directly competes with Nova's drone data capture, logging, and mapping workflows for drone programs at scale.
• Frontline (formerly Measure): Frontline is a drone operations management platform purpose-built for public safety agencies including fire, EMS, and law enforcement. It directly competes with Nova's industry-specific solutions for first responder drone programs and incident response workflows.

Broad incumbents

• DJI FlightHub / DJI Terra: DJI, the dominant commercial drone manufacturer, offers FlightHub 2 for fleet/operations management and Terra for photogrammetry and mapping. As a broad incumbent, DJI bundles hardware with mapping software, putting pricing pressure on standalone platforms like Nova.
• ESRI (ArcGIS): ESRI's ArcGIS platform is the dominant GIS system used by government and public safety agencies. ArcGIS Online, ArcGIS Drone2Map, and ArcGIS Field Maps overlap with Nova's geospatial and PDF-map export capabilities and represent a major incumbent that agencies already pay for.
• Skydio: Skydio is a major US-based drone manufacturer that has expanded into software and cloud services (Skydio Cloud) for public safety, defense, and inspection. As a broad incumbent it offers an integrated drone + mapping + autonomy stack that competes for the same public safety budgets as Nova.
• Mapbox: Mapbox is the underlying mapping platform that Nova integrates with and also offers its own Atlas and Vision SDK products that can be used for custom drone and asset-tracking applications. As both a partner and adjacent platform, Mapbox competes at the platform layer underneath Nova.

Emerging players

• FlytBase: FlytBase is a drone autonomy and fleet management platform that focuses on dock-based autonomous drone operations and integration with public safety workflows. It is an emerging competitor that intersects with Nova's live-stream and incident-response use cases for enterprise and public safety customers.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@Nova-Maps
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/nova-maps
• Instagraminstagram.com/mapwithnova
• Facebookfacebook.com/mapwithnova

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Nova