Drone startup raises $6.5M

Hanger will focus on software development, getting new customers.

An Austin startup wants to use drones to do everything from inspecting thousands of houses after a hail storm to monitoring long-term construction projects.

Now, Hanger has raised $6.5 million to ramp up software development and pursue new customers.

Founded this year, Hanger uses a combination of software and drone technology to provide aerial data for customers in industries including insurance, real estate, architecture, engineering and construction. The drones’ cameras take still images and video of the inspection targets.

Hanger has performed more than 1,000 drone tests in Austin for a handful of test customers, said Colin Guinn, Hanger’s founder and a drone industry veteran. The company is preparing to go nationwide early next year.

“I’ve watched drone technology advance at a breakneck pace,” Guinn said. “They are now consumer friendly products that have multiple computers, 4k cameras, video links and sensors, and cost less than $1,000. We think there’s a huge opportunity in harnessing this technology.”

Guinn previously was chief revenue officer at 3D Robotics, an Austin-based maker of drones and drone technology for com-