The future of energy infrastructure inspections is tilting toward drones faster than the general public likely knows. At least so says the newly-released Energy Infrastructure Index 2025.

According to the survey respondents in the Energy Infrastructure Index 2025, 96% of senior North American energy executives believe UAVs will replace helicopters for infrastructure inspections within the next decade.

The report comes from SwissDrones, a company that does have some skin in the game given that SwissDrones builds long-range drones. Their drones are unique in that they’re uncrewed helicopters, rather than the tiny quadcopters that typically come to mind when you hear drone.

For an industry historically reliant on piloted aircraft to monitor pipelines, powerlines and other sprawling infrastructure, this represents a seismic shift.

Energy executives fear preventable disasters are looming

The survey, conducted by Censuswide across 100 C-level executives in the U.S. and Canada, paints a grim picture of the energy grid’s future. 89% of leaders believe deteriorating infrastructure will lead to a major, preventable pipeline or powerline incident within the next 10 years.

The risk isn’t just hypothetical. Executives forecast cascading consequences for consumers:

• 87% expect the U.S. to see a dramatic increase in service interruptions in the next five years
• 92% believe decaying infrastructure will drive consumer price hikes over the next decade

“Extreme weather events are battering aging energy infrastructure across the continent and, as our data shows, energy executives say it is only a matter of time before an incident occurs,” wrote SwissDrones CEO Ulrich Amberg in the foreword of the report.

Climate change is raising the stakes for inspections

Aging powerlines and pipelines weren’t built to withstand today’s climate pressures. 96% of executives say that every major storm makes them worry about their company’s infrastructure holding up, and 87% admit the industry is still more reactive than proactive in dealing with these risks.

Executives overwhelmingly agree the industry must pivot toward anticipation, not reaction. When asked what steps should be taken, 62% called for adopting automated inspections and AI-powered data analysis, while 53% pushed for stricter infrastructure management regulations.

Labor shortages are slowing progress

Even as executives recognize the urgency, they struggle to inspect infrastructure frequently enough. The survey found:

• 69% say they cannot inspect frequently enough to keep up
• 93% admit thorough inspections that catch issues early are their greatest challenge
• 61% still rely exclusively on human labor for inspections

That reliance on human inspectors is increasingly untenable.

“Traditional methods are no longer cost-effective, safe, or sustainable enough for the next era of energy infrastructure expansion and maintenance,” Amberg wrote.

Data gaps are leaving blind spots

Accurate, timely data is essential to spotting minor issues before they become disasters — but energy companies say they lack the right tools. Executives report that their data is:

• 48% out of date
• 39% insufficient in quantity
• 38% not detailed enough
• 35% not accurate enough

Some leaders say they are overwhelmed by too much raw data, while others lack enough information altogether. Both extremes hinder preventative maintenance.

The environmental cost of helicopter inspections

Helicopters have long been the workhorse of energy inspections, but their environmental footprint is increasingly hard to justify. According to the report, 97% of executives are aware of the emissions impact of helicopter inspections, and 95% have already evaluated cleaner alternatives.

As part of their broader sustainability goals, 96% say reducing inspection-related emissions this year is a priority, with 98% reporting investments in environmentally friendly inspection technologies.

Still, executives acknowledge today’s standards aren’t strong enough: 72% believe current maintenance protocols won’t prevent significant environmental damage over the next decade.

UAVs offer safer, cleaner, and more scalable solutions

The consensus on UAVs is nearly unanimous. The report found that:

• 96% say UAVs are safer than helicopters
• 96% say UAVs are more environmentally friendly
• 97% say UAVs have additional use cases beyond inspections, including payload delivery

Despite this enthusiasm, adoption is lagging: only 44% of companies currently use UAVs. The biggest barrier? Regulations.

What regulations are needed for the drone industry — and what’s next

According to the report, 88% of executives cite regulatory hurdles as the primary barrier to scaling UAV adoption. Many companies are waiting for clearer rules around long-range flights before investing in drone programs.

That clarity may soon arrive. The FAA recently released its long-awaited Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) for Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) operations, which would finally open the door for scaled, commercial long-range drone flights in the U.S. Up north, Transport Canada is working on similar guidance.

For energy executives, regulatory progress could be the tipping point. As the Energy Infrastructure Index concludes, UAVs are not just a future solution — they’re an urgent necessity.

The energy sector is facing challenges including aging infrastructure, labor shortages, data blind spots, and environmental pressures.

Executives are nearly unanimous in their belief that drones are safer, greener, and better equipped to handle the task than helicopters. With regulations finally catching up, the energy sector may soon rely on UAVs as its frontline defense against infrastructure failure.

You can read the full report here: Energy Infrastructure Index 2025.

Do you love reading industry trends and getting data around the drone industry? If you made it this far, the answer is yes!

To keep stories like this coming, please make a recurring donation to The Drone Girl! Use the button below or go through my PayPal to donate. Thank you!

The post Energy executives say drones will replace helicopters for inspections within a decade appeared first on The Drone Girl.

–Teledyne FLIR Defense, part of Teledyne Technologies Incorporated , has introduced its revolutionary SkyCarrier platform at the DSEI trade show in London, showcasing a breakthrough in autonomous drone operations for military and civil applications. Designed for launch and recovery of Teledyne FLIR’s SkyRaider and SkyRanger unmanned aerial systems (UAS), SkyCarrier enables fully autonomous, on-the-move drone […]

DroneDeploy, long known as a leader in drone-based data gathering, is officially entering a new era. Today, the San Francisco–based company announced it has reached break-even and secured $15 million in strategic funding from existing investors.

Unlike the splashy venture rounds that fueled much of Silicon Valley’s drone sector in the 2010s, this investment isn’t about survival — it’s about accelerating DroneDeploy’s pivot from flying cameras to a broader future of AI and robotics.

From drones to data: Progress AI and beyond

At the center of this shift is Progress AI, a software which DroneDeploy bills as its vision-language solution. In short, it automates construction progress reports. Traditionally, generating accurate site updates required expensive manual workflows. DroneDeploy says its AI can now deliver reports with over 95% accuracy in minutes.

Mike Winn, co-founder and CEO of DroneDeploy, told The Drone Girl that the accuracy benchmark is based on comparisons against human construction professionals performing the same analysis.

“Customers want to ensure they are getting valuable insights that make the job easier, and not noisy or inaccurate data that wastes time and money,” Winn said. “Generally customers are excited about getting both safety and progress data from a single capture, and quickly feel at ease with the product once they see the value and accuracy.”

The demand is strong in hyperscale data center construction — a fast-growing vertical where on-time delivery is paramount. Winn said 84% of DroneDeploy’s customers’ top 50 projects, totaling $35 billion in development, are focused on data centers or other critical infrastructure. But while data centers may be the headline today, he emphasized that the platform applies broadly across sectors like infrastructure, energy and agriculture.

Why raise $15 million if DroneDeploy is break-even?

Winn said that the raise is “strategic, not a traditional growth round.” The funds will specifically target AI and robotics development, including autonomous quadrupeds, aerial drones and eventually humanoid systems. The company is also diversifying its reality capture stack beyond drones, adding support for LiDAR sensors, fixed cameras and even mobile devices.

“DroneDeploy sits at the intersection of AI and robotics,” Winn said. “This fundraise will help advance our automation roadmap to meet customer needs.”

The company already has a track record in robotics besides drones. Since acquiring Rocos, DroneDeploy has built an operating system for deploying robots at scale, powering pilots like Boston Dynamics’ Spot robots conducting overnight inspections on oil and gas and construction sites. Turner Construction, for example, used DroneDeploy-powered Spot robots to cut inspection times by more than 95% on large-scale data center projects.

The path to sustainable growth

DroneDeploy’s break-even milestone stands out in a drone and robotics market still littered with companies struggling to recover from the overfunded “ZIRP era” of 2021.That was the Zero Interest-Rate Policy era, when borrowing costs were so low that companies could much more easily invest and hiring, but that also led to asset bubbles and excessive borrowing…and layoffs down the road.

Unlike peers that chased aggressive valuations, DroneDeploy took a disciplined approach, focusing on profitability and recurring revenue.

While Winn declined to share revenue figures, he said DroneDeploy is “by a significant margin” the largest player in the reality capture space. The platform has been used on 1.7 million sites across 180 countries. As of early 2025, over 80% of the top 50 U.S. general contractors — as ranked by Engineering News-Record — use its tools.

As for what’s next — IPO or acquisition talks? Winn won’t comment, though he confirmed the company expects to remain profitable and reinvest earnings back into product innovation.

Looking ahead: more than just drones

Though the word “drone” remains in its name, DroneDeploy is increasingly positioning itself as a field robotics and AI company. Winn noted that drones remain the company’s core, but customer demand is driving diversification. “We plan to continue to diversify over time in our other core reality capture products, including LiDAR sensors, mobile devices and fixed cameras,” he said.

This evolution has been underway for years, but the latest funding in the wake of its break-even puts it into sharper focus: DroneDeploy is betting its future not only on drones but on a broader suite of automated capture tools and AI-powered insights that can transform industrial job sites.

Customers like Layton Construction are already seeing the payoff.

“With Progress AI, we’re getting accurate site visibility in minutes – and using that to make faster, better calls across our portfolio,” said Jon Ferguson, VP of VDC at Layton in a prepared statement. “But what’s more important is where this is going… fewer manual workflows, tighter risk control and data we can trust to drive critical decisions at scale.”

Where to see what’s next

DroneDeploy will showcase its robotics and AI technology at multiple major 2025 drone events, including the Procore Championship in Napa Valley, CA (Sept. 11–14, 2025) next week. Then there’s DroneDeplo’ys own Horizons 2025 conference, which is set for late October in Southern California. There, the company promises “major product announcements” in robotics and AI.

While details remain under wraps, Winn hinted that Horizons will spotlight the next generation of site intelligence — continuing DroneDeploy’s journey from flying cameras to thinking robots.

The post DroneDeploy hits break-even, raises $15M to fuel AI and robotics beyond drones appeared first on The Drone Girl.