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A Scottsdale-based robotic systems startup is among 10 companies nationwide that recently completed the Techstars Industries of the Future accelerator program.
Crow Industries, which specializes in using robots to collect data from extreme environments for mining and defense applications, spent more than three months in the hybrid accelerator, splitting time between Scottsdale and the program’s headquarters in Knoxville, Tennessee.
Techstars Industries of the Future is intended for early-stage startups focusing on emerging technologies in artificial intelligence, advanced manufacturing, climate and clean energy tech, future of work and mobility.
Crow Industries met with more than 70 mentors and gained additional expertise in business development, product-market fit and raising capital during the Techstars accelerator program, said James Crowell, founder and CEO of Crow Industries.
The program culminated with a demo day event in Knoxville where Crow Industries pitched the company to potential investors, he said.
“The week after demo day, [Techstars] set up a bunch of investor meetings for us so we were able to start some relationships with a couple dozen investors,” Crowell said. “It was great we got that started. We're laser-focused right now on building out our mapping business and helping mines with their exploration campaigns so we can generate revenue as we continue to improve our autonomous systems.”
Creating a robotic 'labor force'
Crow Industries is building autonomous robots to boost production and improve safety in the mining sector and other applications.
The company developed an advanced 3D mapping robot called "Fenris" that collects several types of data 10 times faster than traditional methods, Crowell said.
The company aims to create an autonomous robotic "labor force" by installing sensors and control systems on haulers, loaders and excavators that mining industry workers can control and supervise even when off-site, he said.
“We're starting with advanced mapping robots and then working our way up to earthmovers over the next couple of years,” he said.
Prior to launching Crow Industries in 2018, Crowell specialized in development of polar, maritime, volcanic and space systems at research laboratories and NASA.
Crowell said his idea for the company was initially sparked by his passion for space exploration and settlement.
“In order to be able to expand humanity beyond Earth, you have to be able to move all society and the first piece of that is mining." he said. “... But the space industry is a long way off from being able to do large-scale mining operations on the moon or Mars, so as we were trying to figure out our path forward, we realized that there’s actually a lot of problems in the terrestrial mining industry. That’s where we kind of modified our approach and realize that we can become a really great mining company.”
Funding round in the works
Crow Industries, which was an Inno Pick category finalist for AZ Inno’s 2022 Fire Awards, has five employees and operates a workshop in Scottsdale.
The company, which has been bootstrapped aside from some angel investment and $120,000 from the Techstars accelerator, is planning to open a pre-seed funding round in the coming months.
Crow Industries completed the go-to-market version of its advanced 3D mapping robotic technology and is looking to grow its customer base of mining companies in the Southwest, Crowell said.
“That's our big push right now. We're focused on reaching out to mines here in Arizona and throughout the American Southwest to help them with their exploration campaigns,” Crowell said. “Then, as we’re doing that, we’re building out our autonomy platform that we hope to start beta testing next year.”
