Texsar

What Texsar does

Texsar (Texas Search and Rescue) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, volunteer-driven search and rescue organization founded circa 2004 and headquartered in Wimberley, Texas. It provides free ground search and rescue, K9 search and recovery, flood and swiftwater rescue, wildland fire response, aerial search, UAV/drone support, and dive team operations to local, state, and federal agencies across Texas through four operating divisions (Central Texas, Gulf Coast, South Central, North Texas). The organization activates exclusively at agency request via a dedicated emergency line and maintains specialized units including a Missing Persons Unit (established 2023) and a Community Support branch covering disaster and VOAD response. It does not charge requesting agencies and receives no government funding; operations are supported by private donations, corporate sponsorships (H-E-B, McCoys, Kendra Scott, Firehouse Subs), membership dues ($100 first year, $50 renewal discount), and annual fundraising events such as the Search Party and Memorial Clay Shoot.

TEXSAR has developed ADIAT (Automated Drone Image Analysis Tool), an open-source desktop application built by volunteers that uses AI/computer-vision models to flag areas of interest in drone imagery, including offline in remote areas. ADIAT was used operationally by Italy's CNSAS in July 2025 to locate a missing hiker on Monviso, marking the organization's first documented international technology deployment. The organization also operates SIMS Mobile, an internal volunteer and membership information management platform.

In 2026, TEXSAR hired its first paid executive officers — a Chief Operations Officer (Smith Tennyson), Director of Field Operations (Dr. Michael Duffek), and Assistant Director of Development (Rianne Sykes-Wenske) — signaling a structural shift from a 100% volunteer operating model toward a hybrid professionalized structure. Revenue is undisclosed; with 251-500 listed personnel (substantially volunteer), no government funding, and free services to agencies, the organization's financial scale is best inferred from event-level fundraising (e.g., $16,396 from the 4th Annual Memorial Clay Shoot in 2021) and corporate sponsorship breadth.

Name

Texsar

Legal name

Texas Search and Rescue

Website

https://texsar.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2004

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

Texsar is a 501(c)(3) volunteer search and rescue nonprofit operating across Texas, providing free ground SAR, K9, swiftwater, wildland fire, aerial, UAV, and dive services to government agencies on request, funded by donations and sponsorships.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Search and Rescue Services

akta.pro primary industry

Emergency Response & Search-and-Rescue (SAR) (BPAGAAAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Search & Rescue (Urban/Water/Wilderness) Coordination (HLAJAGAJ), Search & Rescue (SAR) K9 Services (BPAKAKAH)

Keywords

• Search and rescue
• K9 search teams
• Swift water rescue
• Wildland fire response
• Drone image analysis

Headquarters

HQ city

Austin

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Donations and Sponsorships: 100% of TEXSAR's funding comes from sponsors, members, and the community. The organization is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit that does not receive any government funding.
2. Membership Dues: Initial membership fee of $100 for the first year, with subsequent years receiving a $50 discount if paid by the due date. Dues cover background checks and administrative maintenance.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

Texsar provides volunteer-led search and rescue services across Texas and surrounding regions, specializing in K9 ground search, swift water rescue, wildland fire response, and missing persons investigations for requesting public-safety agencies. The organization also develops and maintains ADIAT (Automated Drone Image Analysis Tool), an open-source AI platform for triaging drone imagery during search missions.

Product overview

TEXSAR (Texas Search and Rescue) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit first responder organization that provides volunteer-based search and rescue services across Texas. The organization operates several specialized units including ground search and rescue, flood and swiftwater rescue, K9 teams, a Missing Persons Unit established in 2023, and an incident management team. TEXSAR has developed ADIAT (Automated Drone Image Analysis Tool), an open-source AI-powered software tool that helps analyze drone imagery for search operations. The organization also uses an internal SIMS Mobile information management system for membership and volunteer coordination. Services are provided free of charge to requesting agencies.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Search and Rescue Operations (K9 / Ground Search)

Named customers3 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability2 records

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Italy's National Alpine and Speleological Rescue Corps (CNSAS)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 July 2025International SAR organization that used ADIAT (developed by TEXSAR volunteers) to successfully locate missing hiker Dr. Nicola Ivaldo in July 2025. This partnership demonstrates the real-world application and effectiveness of TEXSAR-developed technology in international SAR operations.
• ADIAT (Automated Drone Image Analysis Tool)coreTechnology or IntegrationADIAT is an open-source desktop application developed by TEXSAR volunteers. It uses AI models and image-processing algorithms to analyze drone imagery for search and rescue operations. The tool was successfully used by Italy's National Alpine and Speleological Rescue Corps (CNSAS) in July 2025 to locate a missing hiker on Monviso mountain, scanning 2,600 images across a 183-hectare area in a single five-hour drone flight.
• H-E-BminorOthersMajor Texas retailer sponsor contributing to TEXSAR's funding. Listed among sponsors on TEXSAR's website.
• McCoys Building and SupplyminorOthersBuilding supply company that supported SAR Week recognition and provided Texas-wide campaign recognizing SAR professionals. Active sponsor and supporter.
• Kendra ScottminorOthersJewelry company that participated in Give Back events where a portion of sales was donated to TEXSAR.
• Firehouse SubsminorOthersRestaurant chain listed as sponsor, supporting TEXSAR through their foundation.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Mountain Rescue Association: National federation of volunteer mountain search and rescue teams in the US. Directly comparable to TEXSAR as a network of unpaid volunteer SAR units delivering ground, technical, and alpine rescue to requesting agencies.
• Civil Air Patrol: US volunteer civilian aerial organization with a dedicated SAR and disaster relief mission, including missing person search support. Comparable to TEXSAR in being a large volunteer force multiplier deployed at the request of agencies.
• National Association for Search and Rescue (NASAR): US nonprofit that supports and standardizes volunteer SAR through training, certification, and member services. Directly comparable to TEXSAR as a volunteer-SAR-supporting nonprofit operating in the same mission space.
• Bay Area Mountain Rescue Unit (BAMRU): All-volunteer wilderness SAR team in Northern California. Comparable to TEXSAR as a regional volunteer SAR nonprofit providing free ground search and technical rescue at agency request.

Regional players

• Los Angeles County Sheriff's Search and Rescue Reserve: Large volunteer SAR reserve unit serving Los Angeles County. Comparable to TEXSAR in mission and volunteer-driven model but anchored to a single county's sheriff's office rather than statewide.
• Seattle Mountain Rescue: Volunteer mountain SAR team in the Pacific Northwest offering technical rescue and ground search. Comparable to TEXSAR's specialized ground/aerial SAR capabilities but operating in a different geography.

Emerging players

• BRINC Drones: Drone manufacturer building indoor/outdoor drones explicitly designed for first responder and SAR use cases. Comparable to TEXSAR's UAV/drone mission area and directly adjacent to the ADIAT computer-vision stack.
• Skydio: US drone manufacturer widely adopted by public safety and SAR agencies for autonomous aerial search. Directly comparable to TEXSAR's drone operations and the platform ADIAT analyzes imagery from.

Broad incumbents

• DJI Enterprise: Dominant global drone hardware platform used by most SAR and public safety drone teams. Comparable to TEXSAR's drone operations as the underlying hardware ecosystem for ADIAT-style computer vision workflows.

Others

• Esri: GIS and spatial analytics platform widely used by SAR teams for mapping, incident management, and missing persons analysis. Comparable to TEXSAR's GIS specialist volunteer base and SIMS information management needs as a key enabling technology vendor.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCZJ4E45a5Jk2Nq LA
• Facebookfacebook.com/TEXSAR
• Xx.com/texsar1

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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 Texsar