AUAV

What AUAV does

AUAV (Australian UAV), founded in 2013 and headquartered in Melbourne, is a professional drone services company specializing in aerial inspection, survey, and mapping of industrial assets. The company's core offering combines drone-based data capture using specialized sensors (LiDAR, thermal imaging, RGB cameras) with three proprietary software platforms — inSite™ (asset inspection software managing data from capture to delivery), onSite (data management platform), and TenderPak™ (tender documentation tool) — to deliver an end-to-end inspection workflow. AUAV serves enterprise clients across primary verticals including oil & gas (tank, confined space, flare stack, and rig inspections), energy & utilities (wind, solar, distribution pole inspections), construction & infrastructure, water infrastructure, and offshore energy, with subsea capabilities delivered through AUV/ROV robotics.

AUAV operates a project-based, quote-priced professional services revenue model, delivering engagements through direct enterprise field sales rather than self-serve channels. The company holds CASA (Australia), CAA (UK), and FAA (US) operating licenses, as well as ISO certifications, and emphasizes an unblemished safety record and Top 20 global UAV service provider status (per Drone Industry Insights, four consecutive years through 2022). Named enterprise customers include Shell (collaboration on the world's first BVLOS unmanned entry 5-year COT tank inspection with ABS and Sonomatic) and Rio Tinto (solar farm thermal surveys).

In March 2022, AUAV was majority-acquired by Vertech Group, an Australian industrial services conglomerate, integrating AUAV with sister companies Sonomatic (advanced NDT) and Geo Oceans (subsea robotics) to offer bundled robotics and drone inspection campaigns. The company has since expanded internationally, opening a Darwin office in February 2023, an Aberdeen UK operational base in September 2023, and a Houston US headquarters in October 2023, giving it a three-continent operational footprint serving industrial clients in Australia, the United Kingdom, and North America. The company is privately held, with no public revenue or headcount disclosures beyond a stated 11-50 employee range, and is led by Managing Director James Rennie.

Name

AUAV

Legal name

AUAV (Australian UAV)

Website

https://auav.com.au

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

AUAV is a professional drone services company that provides aerial inspection, survey, and mapping for industrial asset owners. Founded in 2013 in Australia and majority-owned by Vertech Group since 2022, it serves enterprise clients in oil & gas, energy, utilities, and infrastructure across Australia, the UK, and the US.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Drone Inspection Services

NAICS

Geophysical Surveying and Mapping Services (541360), Building Inspection Services (541350), Other Scientific and Technical Consulting Services (541690)

SIC

Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731)

akta.pro primary industry

Inspection Services (Ground, Aerial/Drone, Helicopter, Climbing) (EUADAJAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Aerial Surveying & Crop Scouting (Imaging, Mapping, Stand Counts) (AFACAIAJ), Marine & Underwater Robotics (USVs/UUVs) (HDAAAIAH)

Keywords

• Drone inspection services
• Aerial survey mapping
• Asset inspection
• Aerial LiDAR scanning
• Industrial UAV services

Headquarters

HQ city

Melbourne

HQ country

Australia

HQ region

Oceania

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Drone Inspection Services: Project-based drone inspection services for industrial assets including tanks, confined spaces, infrastructure, and specialized applications. Revenue generated through service contracts and per-project engagements.
2. Aerial Survey and Mapping: Survey and mapping services using aerial drones with photogrammetry and LiDAR capabilities for construction, mining, and infrastructure projects.
3. Specialist Sensor Services: Specialized inspection services using thermal imaging, laser scanning, and other advanced sensors for specific inspection requirements.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

AUAV provides professional drone-based industrial asset inspection, aerial survey, and mapping services for enterprise clients across oil and gas, energy, utilities, construction, and water infrastructure. Services are delivered using specialized drones equipped with LiDAR, thermal imaging, and RGB sensors, complemented by three proprietary software platforms (inSite™, onSite, and TenderPak™) that manage data from flight planning through to client-ready deliverables. The company also extends to underwater inspection via integration with Vertech Group sister companies using AUV/ROV subsea robotics.

Product overview

AUAV is a drone inspection services company offering a unified platform of hardware inspection services and proprietary software tools. The core offering consists of drone-based inspection services (aerial and marine) complemented by three integrated software platforms: inSite™ (custom asset inspection software for managing data from capture to delivery), onSite (data management platform), and TenderPak™ (tender documentation management). The company operates across all Australian states and territories, the United Kingdom, and the United States, providing services to numerous industries including energy, infrastructure, and utilities.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• inSite™: Custom asset inspection software developed by AUAV for managing data from capture to delivery.
• onSite
• TenderPak™

Products and services

• Drone Asset Inspections Drone-based inspection service for industrial assets including tanks, confined spaces, flare stacks, oil rigs, and other infrastructure. Includes thermal inspections and photogrammetry modeling. Designed for oil and gas, energy, utilities, and industrial asset owners needing safe inspection of hazardous or hard-to-reach environments without scaffolding, rope access, or confined space entry.
• Aerial Survey & Mapping Aerial survey and mapping services using drone technology for geospatial data collection and mapping applications across construction, mining, and infrastructure projects.
• Aerial LiDAR Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) aerial scanning service using drone-mounted sensors to deliver precise 3D data capture for industrial and infrastructure applications.
• Specialist Sensors & Services Specialized sensor technologies and inspection services delivering advanced data collection capabilities for specific industrial inspection requirements beyond standard visual capture.
• Terrestrial Laser Scanning Ground-based laser scanning service providing detailed 3D modeling and measurement of structures and environments for asset documentation and analysis.
• Terrestrial & Marine Drones Ground-based and underwater drone inspection services including bathymetric surveys for subsea infrastructure assessment, leveraging AUV/ROV subsea robotics from Vertech Group sister companies.
• Aerial Photo & Video Professional aerial photography and videography services using drone platforms to provide visual documentation for industrial, commercial, and promotional purposes.
• Roof & Building Inspections Drone-based inspection service for rooftops and building exteriors, delivering detailed visual assessment without scaffolding or rope access for commercial and industrial property owners.
• Thermal Surveys for Solar Farms Thermal imaging survey service using drones to identify hot spots, defects, and performance issues across solar panel installations for utility-scale solar operators.
• Crack Mapping of Dams Specialized drone inspection service for detailed crack mapping and structural assessment of dam infrastructure, supporting structural monitoring programs for dam operators and water resource managers.
• Distribution Pole Inspections Drone-based inspection service for utility distribution poles that enables efficient condition assessment of utility infrastructure without service interruptions.
• Wind Farm Inspections Specialized drone inspection service for wind turbine blades and wind farm infrastructure, identifying damage and maintenance needs without rope-based or elevated access.
• Drone Data Platform Comprehensive data management platform offering for processing, analyzing, and delivering drone-captured inspection data to clients across AUAV's service engagements.

Quantifiable outcome

• World's first BVLOS unmanned entry 5-year COT tank inspection

Named customers2 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

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and flagship.

• SonomaticcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSister company under Vertech Group. AUAV, Sonomatic, and Geo Oceans collaborate on advanced inspection projects including the world's first BVLOS unmanned entry tank inspection with Shell and ABS.
• Geo OceanscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSister company under Vertech Group specializing in underwater operations. Collaborates with AUAV on combined robotics and drone inspection campaigns.
• ShellflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerMajor oil and gas operator. Collaborated with AUAV, Sonomatic, and Geo Oceans to achieve the world's first BVLOS unmanned entry 5-year COT tank inspection.
• American Bureau of Shipping (ABS)flagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerClassification society and maritime advisory organization. Partnered with AUAV, Sonomatic, and Geo Oceans on the world-first BVLOS unmanned entry tank inspection project.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Emerging players

• Percepto: Developer of autonomous drone-in-a-box inspection solutions for industrial sites (oil & gas, power, mining); competes with AUAV on inspection use cases through a fully autonomous hardware model rather than project-based services.
• Raptor Maps: Drone-based inspection and analytics platform purpose-built for solar PV asset management; intersects AUAV in solar thermal surveys (Rio Tinto case) but is more software/SaaS-led.
• Sharper Shape: Drone inspection services and asset management software for utilities and linear infrastructure (transmission lines, pipelines); adjacent competitor to AUAV's distribution pole and wind inspection lines.
• PrecisionHawk: Provider of drone-based data collection and analytics across energy, agriculture, and infrastructure; overlaps with AUAV on inspection/survey work but also covers adjacent verticals with a heavier software/analytics emphasis.

Broad incumbents

• Skydio: Leading US autonomous drone manufacturer whose enterprise customers increasingly run inspection programs in-house; represents a structural competitive threat and adjacent ecosystem participant to service-based firms like AUAV.
• DJI Enterprise: Dominant commercial drone hardware OEM whose platforms AUAV itself uses; while not a services competitor, DJI's enterprise ecosystem and channel partners shape AUAV's go-to-market economics and competitive landscape.

Direct peers

• Sky-Futures: Pioneer drone-based inspection provider for oil & gas and energy infrastructure with global operations; highly comparable to AUAV in target verticals, BVLOS capability, and enterprise sales motion.
• Cyberhawk Innovations: UK-based drone inspection services company specializing in oil & gas, utilities, and industrial asset inspections — direct competitor to AUAV in the same enterprise inspection niche with a similar services-plus-data offering.
• Measure (subsidiary of USI): US drone inspection and aerial data services firm serving energy, telecom and infrastructure; comparable to AUAV in service model, US presence, and enterprise inspection focus.

Others

• DroneDeploy: Drone data platform for mapping, progress tracking and asset inspection across construction, mining and energy; comparable to AUAV's inSite™/onSite software layer and a potential partner or competitor for inspection data workflows.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/australianuav
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCn2W5J1JRmAoI5cuN2278GA
• Facebookfacebook.com/AustralianUav
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/australian-uav

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

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 AUAV