Imagine a future where seeing drones in the sky is as common as seeing airplanes.
Meet the Berlin-based startup that is making this future a reality with an autonomous operating system for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVS) or drones 🛫 🤖
Despite the potential of drones for various use cases including dual-use, they are limited by the reliance on human operators, high costs, and low effectiveness. Most drones currently require operators with over 200 hours of costly training. The current systems also have an achilles heel, reliance on GPS, which makes it vulnerable to jamming.
PLENO (Techstars'24) has developed a modular operating system that turns any drone into an autonomous flying robot. Enabling drones to operate autonomously without human intervention increases their accuracy, eliminating vulnerabilities, all while lowering costs.
👉 Their Ambition: PLENO aims to become Europe’s Leading Autonomous Drone Operating System. 🚀
Meet the Founders Behind PLENO (Techstars'24):
Nino Lindenberg (CTO): Nino is an AI engineer who began his career in the Germany Army as an officer and Special Forces candidate. After leaving the army, he studied Computer Science at CODE University of Applied Sciences. Nino also founded a software agency firm specializing in Autonomous Systems, working on various computer vision projects for big organizations in Berlin.
Nura (Ngurah) Linggih (CEO): Nura brings a robust business and product management background from his roles at tech companies like Celonis & Zalando, and consulting experiences at PwC. He holds an MBA from WHU – Otto Beisheim School of Management and a Bachelor’s in Management from the The University of Queensland.
PLENO's Game-Changing Qualities:
1️⃣ Team Tightness: The PLENO team is incredibly cohesive, with founders Nura and Nino who were childhood friends. They began working together on a weekend project, and when they discovered how well they worked together, the project grew into a full-fledged startup.
2️⃣ Speed of Execution: PLENO is agile and quick in validating use cases, working day and night to talk to customers and build prototypes. During Techstars program, within 2 months they secured a paid pilot with a drone manufacturer and three Letters of Intent (LOIs). Their ability to swiftly implement and test their technology sets them apart in the rapidly evolving drone industry.
3️⃣ Curiosity & Growth: The PLENO founders' curiosity and willingness to learn have been pivotal to their success so far. Despite not being experts initially, their dedication to understanding the field and building innovative solutions has driven PLENO's growth. They continuously explore the market by talking to experts and potential customers, fostering a culture of perpetual learning and improvement.
👉 Their ask: They are currently looking for connections to advisors with experience working on dual use case technology.
