ZURICH-headquartered firm Xer Technologies has rolled out its first product, a heavy-duty hybrid electric drone called X8 – just a year and a half after oil firm Rex International Holding made its first bet on the commercial drone maker.

These drones pack a punch in terms of flight time and payload and could give the predominantly battery-propelled drone market a run for its money.

Armed with a sharpened business proposition to further expand its platform of unmanned aerial system (UAS) solutions in the coming year or so, and to step up its game in the booming global commercial drone market, Xer is also mulling an initial public offering (IPO) in two to three years, according to Xer’s chief executive Kristofer Skantze in an interview with The Business Times.