Toronto-based startup DreamQii raises over $2.5 million to build photography drone
TORONTO, May 6, 2015 /CNW/ - DreamQii, a robotics company based out of the DMZ at Ryerson University, has led the highest grossing Canadian campaign in Indiegogo's history, raising over $2 million USD (over C$2.5 million) to support the production of PlexiDrone. The small, portable and sophisticated drone can be easily operated by a smartphone or tablet, enabling users to take breathtaking aerial photographs and videos.
"We are humbled by the global support PlexiDrone has received," said Klever Freire, DreamQii founder and CEO. "Our supporters and backers enabled us to build the world's best and easiest to use aerial photography drone. We want to give back by helping this industry grow in Canada and by keeping the intellectual property, talent and manufacturing right here."
Designed with both consumers and professionals in mind, PlexiDrone snaps together in under a minute and is ready to fly right out of the box. It offers a unique combination of features, including simplified multi-vantage-point swarm filming, GPS "follow me", advanced obstacle avoidance, voice alerts and retractable landing gear providing a 360-degree unobstructed field of view, empowering users to easily produce professional looking photos and videos.
"We could not be more thrilled for DreamQii's success and have been proud to support these entrepreneurs on every step of their journey," said Valerie Fox, Executive Director of the DMZ at Ryerson University. "It is forward-thinking innovators like those at DreamQii that will take Canada to new heights of economic development."
DreamQii was started by a Ryerson University aerospace engineering graduate and has grown to ten full-time staff, with more hires projected. It is also planning on manufacturing PlexiDrone in Ontario.
"DreamQii's PlexiDrone campaign was exceptionally well executed," said Steve Tam, Tech, Hardware, & Design Projects at Indiegogo. "They were able to sustain steady growth throughout their campaign and they continue to experience strong growth as one of the first Indiegogo campaigns to enter InDemand. They've employed innovative sales strategies, including a focus on customer management and add-on sales through the use of our API and their own custom tools."
The Plexidrone can be purchased online from PlexiDrone's campaign on Indiegogo's ongoing InDemand crowdfunding platform. It will be released this coming fall and will be available for purchase in store from leading camera retailer Henry's.
DreamQii is a robotics company based out of the DMZ in Toronto. The company develops easy-to-fly drones, powered by next-generation control software with industrial strength capabilities. Its first product is PlexiDrone, a consumer grade professional-use drone that snaps together in under a minute, with no tools required and works with your favorite camera and mobile device. DreamQii is the brainchild of founder and CEO, Klever Freire, who was previously employed as an aircraft performance engineer at Bombardier Aerospace. Klever assembled an experienced team of aeronautical and electrical engineers as co-founders, designers and developers to work on the DreamQii vision: to bring an easy drone-flying experience to consumers. For more information about DreamQii, visit www.plexidrone.com.
The DMZ is one of Canada's largest business incubators and co-working spaces for entrepreneurs. The top-ranked university incubator in Canada and fifth in the world, the DMZ is a hub of innovation, collaboration and commercialization. Since opening in April 2010, the DMZ and Ryerson Futures Inc.—its affiliated accelerator program—have incubated and accelerated 190 startups which have collectively raised more than $80 million in funding and fostered more than 1,650 jobs. For more information about the DMZ, visit www.ryerson.ca/dmz.
SOURCE DreamQii
Video with caption: "Video: Designed with both consumers and professionals in mind, PlexiDrone snaps together in under a minute and is ready to fly right out of the box. Video courtesy of DreamQii.". Video available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L9OwUOtU380
Image with caption: "Infographic chronicles Toronto-based robotics company DreamQii's timeline and funds raised for PlexiDrone to become Canada's highest grossing crowdfunding campaign. Image courtesy of the DMZ at Ryerson University. (CNW Group/DreamQii)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20150506_C4274_PHOTO_EN_16248.jpg
Image with caption: "The team at DreamQii celebrates achieving Canada's highest grossing crowdfunding campaign. Image courtesy of the DMZ at Ryerson University. Credit: Brian B. Bettencourt. (CNW Group/DreamQii)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20150506_C4274_PHOTO_EN_16249.jpg
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