Sharper Shape, drone-services firm, closes $3.25 mln from Straightforward, PIP

Sharper Shape, the Palo Alto, California, provider of automated drone-based asset-inspection services, closed $3.25 million (€2.9 million) of funding, led by Straightforward Capital and with strategic investment from partners within Partners in Performance. Straightforward is the Helsinki, Finland, venture-capital firm. PIP is the Sydney, Australia, performance-improvement consultant. Sharper Shape's services combine long-distance survey flights and automated data analysis, said Andrej Srsen, Straightforward Capital's managing director. The services boost efficiency for electricity-grid operators, he said, adding that the software “scales directly to other industries such as railways, oil and gas, and wind-power plants."

North AmericaUSBriefs