Female-powered angel network she1K makes first investment in drone startup

SINGAPORE-BASED corporate executive women network she1k has made an undisclosed investment in drone startup Performance Rotors, its first since its inception in November last year.

The investment was done via a syndicate, where member angels pool their money and invest as a single entity through a special purpose vehicle. she1k also invested alongside other institutional and angel investors.

Performance Rotors is an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) solutions company founded in Singapore, with a core focus on confined spaces inspection. The startup has made inroads into the oil and gas sector and brewery storage tanks and will be moving into mining, agriculture, aerospace and underground tunnels further down the road, said she1k in a press statement.

Christina Teo, chief builder of she1K, said: "Performance Rotors was chosen because they have a highly qualified team, acquired some significant reputable customers and are already revenue generating. Furthermore, they were recently accelerated at PortXL, the world's first maritime tech accelerator, which opened doors to large maritime, oil and gas, and plantation conglomerates - which can use their drones to conduct inspections in confined spaces."

By using Performance Rotors' drones, companies can save millions in costs, reduce manpower, and completely eliminate significant human hazards in toxic and flammable confined spaces, she added.

Keith Ng, CEO and co-founder of Performance Rotors, said: "Raven (the startup's drone) is the smallest smart inspection drone that can operate in non-GPS assisted and dark environments. With ultrasonic thickness measurement and artificial intelligence analysis platform integrated, we provide proactive and more effective detection of surface structural defects."