airplanes, a robotics startup that cleans and inspects wind turbines so humans don't have to, has secured $38,9 million in new financing this month from dozens of undisclosed investors.
Wind turbines produce clean energy, but their towers often leak oil that corrodes the blades, increases wind resistance, and contaminates the soil. Aerones' remote-controlled robots clean the towers and blades by spraying them with a liquid detergent, while funnels under the blades collect dirty liquid for reuse. The robots also inspect the turbine systems with cameras and ultrasound machines.
According to the Aerones website, the company has cleaned more than 5.000 turbines in 19 countries to date. In the United States alone there are more than 72.000 wind turbines. In 2021, the turbines generated about 9% of all electricity in the country.
Endorsed by Y Combinator and hailing from Latvia, Aerones aims to raise at least $2,5 million more, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
In April, Aerones received $9 million in seed funding from France's Future Positive Capital and Estonia's Change Ventures. At the time, its co-founder, Dainis Kruze, said the company was "rapidly expanding its operations" and was already working with 9 of the 10 largest companies in the industry, including GE.
