Vantage Robotics

NESTLED ON THE EASTERN SHORE OF SAN FRANCISCO BAY is the city of San Leandro, California. In recent years, this suburban town of roughly 90,000 people has become a growing hub for tech start-ups.

- David Daly

NESTLED ON THE EASTERN SHORE OF SAN FRANCISCO BAY is the city of San Leandro, California. In recent years, this suburban town of roughly 90,000 people has become a growing hub for tech start-ups. One of the most exciting companies that make up the technological tapestry of this city is Vantage Robotics. The company’s signature drone, Snap, has been used by CNN, Fox, Tribune Media, C-SPAN, numerous law-enforcement agencies, the U.S. Army, Stanford University, a big-three automaker, and (of course) consumers. In addition to the success of Snap, the company pioneered the industry in creating a proven path toward Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) flight-over-people waivers.

Founded in 2013 by CEO Tobin Fisher and CTO Joe van Niekerk, Vantage Robotics is off to an impressive start. Stanford- and Yale-trained engineers makeup the core of this uncrewed aircraft systems (UAS) business. Members of the team have helped win the DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) Grand Challenge, set world records in aviation, developed micro fuel-cell power systems, and even helped prove Albert Einstein’s theories. In 2017, this talented team won top honors in Richard Branson’s Extreme Tech Challenge, a competition designed to showcase innovations and entrepreneurs creating technologies that will benefit humanity. In April 2019, Vantage Robotics was one of six companies selected by the U.S. Army to develop a short-range reconnaissance drone. The Army is spending $11 million spread across the companies to build a rucksack-portable drone, with prototypes due by November 2019.

Given these fantastic achievements, I had to learn more about this company and its future, and recently I had the privilege of visiting the company’s headquarters.