Aerones
1800 Shady Oaks Dr., Denton, California, 76205, United States
Overview
Aerones develops patented robotic systems and AI-driven solutions for inspection, maintenance, and predictive services for wind turbines. The company serves major operators and its customers represent over 50% of global wind power capacity, including NextEra, GE, Vestas, Enel and Siemens Gamesa. Led by CEO Dainis Kruze, Aerones combines robotics, AI and manufacturing to deliver remote and automated turbine services. The company plans to expand globally, boost R&D in AI and robotics, scale manufacturing, and enhance predictive maintenance for the wind industry. Recent public funding milestones include a €4M grant from the EU Innovation Fund in 2024 and a $30M funding round in 2023, reflecting ongoing capital support for growth. Aerones develops and deploys patented robotic systems for wind turbine operations, focusing on inspection, maintenance and leading-edge blade repairs. The company plans to produce and deploy the world’s first wind turbine blade leading-edge repair robot sets using EU grant funding. Its services include external and internal blade inspection, lighting protection checks, ultrasound, painting, ice-phobic coating, cleaning, and leading-edge repairs. Aerones says its robotic technology performs crucial tasks 3x–6x faster and yields up to 10x fewer idle stay days than conventional methods, and it operates in more than 27 countries. The firm aims to cut repair downtime dramatically (targeting repairs within 18 hours and a 67% reduction in downtime) and to support the transition to renewable energy. Financially, Aerones secured a €4,416,000 grant from the EU Innovation Fund for a project with a total budget of €7,360,000, and it raised €27M in growth capital just over a year earlier in a round co‑led by Lightrock and Haniel. Founders Dainis Kruze and Janis Putrams lead the company from Riga, Latvia. Aerones offers a patented modular robotic solution that delivers a full suite of wind-turbine services including external visual and internal blade inspections, lighting-protection and ultrasound checks, painting, ice-phobic coating, cleaning, and leading-edge repairs. The company began offering basic inspection services in 2019 and has since expanded its capabilities to comprehensive maintenance and repair work. Aerones serves customers that represent roughly 50% of the world’s wind power capacity, including NextEra, GE, Vestas, Enel and Siemens Gamesa. The company is led by CEO Dainis Kruze and maintains a European headquarters in Riga, Latvia, and a North American headquarters in San Jose, USA. Aerones raised $30M in funding and plans to use the capital to grow technical and sales functions, increase the number of robot service teams, and expand into new markets. No revenue or other financial metrics were disclosed in the article. Aerones is a startup focused on developing robotic systems for cleaning wind-turbine blades. The company announced a $9 million fundraising to support development of those cleaning robots. The article frames the financing as targeted toward product development rather than reporting operating metrics. Public commentary quoted in the article praised the team and the concept of applying robotics to such maintenance tasks. Other commenters raised broader points about rising costs in green energy and suggested alternatives like self-cleaning or low-soiling blades. Aerones has shifted from using large industrial drones to a ground-based robotic system for wind turbine inspection and maintenance. The system combines a computerized winch, a robotic arm, and a small fleet of ground robots to perform tasks such as close-up photography, laser scanning, lightning conductivity tests, blade and drainage-hole cleaning, and coating application. Its design enables a two-man crew to service multiple turbines per day, including some nighttime and low-temperature operations. Aerones says the ground system is more stable and effective than its prior drone approach and has already been piloted in the U.S. and Europe. The company is Y Combinator–backed and moved from Latvia to the San Francisco Bay Area. The new funds will be used to further develop the robotic system and expand further into the U.S. market.
- Total raised
- $111M
- Funding rounds
- 7
- Latest round
- Equity
- Latest activity
- Jun 2025
Industries
- Drone Management
- Drones
- Manufacturing
- Robotics
Recent funding
Equity
Jun 2025
$62M
Grant
Jan 2024
$5M
Equity
Jan 2023
$30M
Seed
Apr 2022
$9M
Seed
Jun 2020
$2M