About Avy
Every year, around 250 million calls are received by emergency services in Europe. It is important for the fire brigade, police, ambulance and coast guard to be on location as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, the legal arrival time of approximately 7 minutes is often not achieved. In addition, there is increasing pressure on emergency services, including due to global warming, population growth and urbanization. In addition, healthcare costs are increasing and healthcare services are centralizing, resulting in a rapidly growing need for high-quality logistics between medical facilities such as laboratories, hospitals, blood banks and pharmacies. Current logistics networks are not sustainable, fast or cost-efficient. To meet the ever-increasing demand for healthcare, new ways of working are required, and Avy offers a perfect solution for this.
Avy creates Drone Networks and enables organizations to deploy aircraft drones within a specific area or on a specific flight line. Avy's unique aircraft drones are able to fly out autonomously when an incident is reported, so that they are often on site within a few minutes. Camera images and thermal images provide emergency services with quick insight so they can maximize their services. Avy's aircraft drones are also used for medical (emergency) deliveries.
Due to the underlying trends, exponential growth is expected in the drone market for medical logistics and emergency response worldwide to a market of 8 billion in 2030. Avy is currently active in emergency services and medical logistics at home and abroad and with its technological lead, Avy is perfectly positioned to reap the benefits.
Avy winner AFAS Young Business Award 2023
Avy has won the AFAS Young Business Award 2023. They not only won the crystal award, but also the prestigious title 'Best Young Company in the Netherlands' and support to raise growth money from affiliated venture capital funds.
This year, a record number of 384 companies registered as participants in the scale-up competition. “If you can manage to meet extremely strict regulations, design and build complex technology, operate in a unique market and still make a significant impact, then you are the best.” – according to the organization of the AFAS Young Business Award.
"It is my dream to make the aviation industry innovatively more sustainable with autonomous and emission-free drone flights. To ensure that we can save more lives on a daily basis, that when you call 112, help is always nearby, regardless of location or accessibility. This award is a great reward for the team after all these years of hard work.” – says Patrique Zaman
Drones for Good | Making the world more beautiful with high-tech drones
Doing good is ingrained in Avy's mission, vision and business operations. Avy has started the mission to deploy sustainable positive drone technology the world a little more beautiful to make. Avy's electrically powered, and therefore emission-free, aircraft drones are currently used for high-impact applications such as flying out during incidents and delivering urgent medicines such as medicines, donor blood and vaccines. The device is also used to find missing people and track down drowning people. This can save lives on a daily basis. In addition, the technology is used in (natural) disasters (such as earthquakes and floods) and in forest fires to protect people and nature.
Avy is committed to making a positive, sustainable impact in ESG areas. That is also the reason for Avy not to supply technology to military organizations for war/warfare or (mass) surveillance. Missions carried out with our technology make a difference in people's lives and for the planet and contribute to Sustainable Development Goals 1, 3, 9, 13 and 15.
The flagship of Ava
Avy's own developed technology consists of an aircraft drone with a unique design, a docking station (in which the drone aircraft charges and stands by) and a software suite.
The drone aircraft, the Avy Aera, combines the functionality of a conventional drone (vertical take-off using 4 propellers and the ability to hang still in the air) and that of an aircraft (horizontal flying, using the aerodynamic principle 'Lift') with which many can be flown more efficiently and much longer distances can be covered at higher speeds.
The Avy Area 4 is designed to be completely weatherproof and can fly in heavy rain and wind (up to wind force 7bft). The aircraft drone has a carrying capacity of approximately 8 liters (3 kg) and flies at a top speed of over 125 km/h for distances of up to 100 kilometers.
The device has various double and triple systems that ensure very high reliability and safety. The built-in parachute provides an extra layer of safety.
The design of the aircraft, the certifications and the permits ensure that Avy is authorized to fly long distances over populated areas throughout the European Union, fully automatically so without a pilot present.
Ava has a permit to fly in Europe
Avy has various permits for flying in European airspace. This allows Avy to serve various types of customers in different countries. Avy is licensed to fly over populated areas and with the launch of its newest aircraft (the Avy Aera 4, which has a built-in parachute as an additional safety mechanism), Avy expects to soon also be able to fly over very densely populated areas such as city centers.
Many of Avy's customers (like all emergency services) in Europe fall into the 'State Operators' category. This means that they can use Avy's technology whenever they wish and that they can deviate from European legislation if this achieves a social goal.
Additional high-tech system
| System | Description |
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| Control Tower (developed in-house, unique IP)
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The Control Tower provides a live video feed of the landing site, real-time and hyperlocal weather information, additional connectivity for the drone, lighting of the landing site and extremely precise location determination so that the drone can determine its position with an accuracy of 1 to 2 centimeters. |
| Docking station (developed in-house, unique IP)  |
The Docking Station is a safe place to store the aircraft drone and ensures that the drone is automatically charged and ready to deploy at any time.
The Docking Station and Control Tower ensure that no people need to be present at take-off and landing sites, which benefits the drone operator's revenue model. |
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AirCare Medkit
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This smart cool box ensures that the medical materials you bring remain at the correct temperature. By using special materials and coolants, a temperature bandwidth of 4 degrees can be guaranteed during flight. The temperature is also monitored and the user receives immediate feedback whether the temperature has been normal during the entire flight. The Medkit is designed and tested to UN standards for the transport of medical goods. |
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AirAware Camera
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This special camera can provide up to 80x zoom video images and has both daylight and infrared sensors, so that it can also be flown at night.
The camera images can be streamed to any location. Image recognition software can also be used to automatically search for fire, smoke or drowning people, for example. The camera is purchased externally and not produced by Avy. |
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Software
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Avy's software suite makes it possible to perform almost completely autonomous flights, automatically planning, monitoring and controlling flights from a central location. As a result, Avy no longer needs pilots on location. Integrated airspace and weather data also offer maximum safety and efficiency. |
Revenue model
Avy's business model consists of providing products and services for Drone Response networks:
- Hardware sales; hardware sales include the Avy Aera aircraft drone with medical payload or camera payload, a docking station, a control tower and additional accessories such as batteries, chargers, modems.
- Service subscriptions; we provide connectivity, personal support, new features through software updates and fleet management tasks such as remote software updates, maintenance tasks and monitoring the readiness of the fleet.
- Additional services; we operate flights for customers, provide training and support customers when applying for permits.
Customers
Ava does not focus on parties that only want to purchase one aircraft, but exclusively on customers who aspire to a Drone Response Network and with whom a long-term partnership can be entered into. The desired fleet size of (potential) customers varies between 50 and 500 aircraft + docking stations. At this moment you see Ava that its customers in the Dutch market are considering a fleet size of approximately 75-100 drones each.
Some examples from Avys customer base:
| Customers | Description |
|---|---|
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Medical Drone Service is a consortium of ANWB and PostNL. They are developing a medical drone network for delivering blood, laboratory materials and medicines throughout the Netherlands. Various hospital groups and diagnostic service providers have already joined MDS, including Sanquin, Erasmus MC, Isala, Amsterdam UMC and the Reinier Haga Medical Diagnostic Center. MDS will soon open the first route between Meppel and Zwolle. |
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Falck is the world's largest security organization. Active in various countries in Europe, USA, Asia and South America. They purchased the Avy Aera to further expand their services in medical logistics and emergency response services. |
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Eanan is an ambitious operator in the Middle East that focuses on providing services to, for example, ports and hospitals in the United Arab Emirates. The first delivery has taken place and several operators have been trained to fly Avy Aera. |
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Delivrone is a French operator that focuses on operating various logistics routes between hospitals and medical service providers in France. |
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Avy and the Dutch Police work together on training pilots, technical integration with existing systems, and testing various scenarios for the use of drones. The police have been using an Avy Aera and Docking Station since the beginning of 2023. |
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The Joint Fire Department is a partnership between approximately sixty companies in the port and industrial area of Rotterdam and the Municipality of Rotterdam. The organization provides firefighting and emergency services in this area. The Joint Fire Brigade already has 2 docking stations and 2 Avy Aeras, and a large team of employees trained as drone operators. |
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Avy and the Port of Rotterdam have been working together since 2021. In this collaboration, flights are carried out weekly, technology is developed and tested, and preparations are made for a mini-network that supports the Harbor Master Division with maritime and inland navigation inspections, such as bunkering, water pollution, air pollution (smoke or soot) and repairs on board ships. . |
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Avy has carried out several successful projects with UNFPA, including in Benin, Cameroon and Botswana. This mainly concerns the transport of blood or medicines, which can be life-saving in a context where supplies are limited and ground travel times are lengthy due to poor infrastructure. |
Geographic focus
The market potential for Avy's technology is very large and global. Avy has chosen to focus on Europe and Africa in the first phase. Given the current customer base in various Western European countries (such as the Netherlands, UK, Scandinavia) and new customers (such as Belgium, France, Spain) and the current license in the EU, Avy can accelerate its development into a market leader here.
Next to Western Europe serves Avy also serves clients in Africa and the Middle East, mainly working with aid organizations. The impact to be made in these areas is very high. In general, obtaining a flying permit for African countries and the Middle East is relatively easy for Avy because Avy's European license is highly regarded.
Over the past 18 months, our revenue breakdown by region was as follows:
Management
Patrique Zaman (CEO)
Patrique Zaman is a serial entrepreneur and CEO of Avy. He studied natural sciences and innovation management at the University of Utrecht. He has started several successful previous companies and has more than 15 years of experience in social and technological entrepreneurship. Patrique gained his first experience with hardware production with his company Solos Innovations, with which he developed the product, the Pianomaestro, an audio product combined with a strip with lights behind the keys to learn to play the piano. Prototypes for other advanced audio products followed later. Patrique has also set up, grown and successfully sold companies in the education field (Student Teacher, National Exam Training and Education Heroes). Patrique has an extensive network in the drone industry and is often invited as a keynote speaker at drone events. He is also the founder of a number of non-profits, including the Breekjaar Foundation (a new educational concept) and the Fastlane Ukraine Foundation (an aid organization to transport urgent medical goods to Ukraine) and to provide shelter for war refugees.
Benjamin van der Hilst (CPO)
Benjamin van der Hilst is CPO (Chief Product Officer) and has a master's degree in Science and Innovation Management from Utrecht University. He now has more than 15 years of experience in international project and program management, product development and guiding innovation processes at Capgemini, BoP Innovation Center and Avy, among others.
Shawn Harris (shareholder 41%)
Shawn Harris is the founder and former CEO of Nature's Pride. After selling her company in 2016, she founded Orange Wings Investments, an early-stage VC that supports startups with impactful ideas and gives wings to future champions. She appeared as Dragon in the well-watched TV program Dragons' Den for three seasons. Shawn was appointed Officer in the Order of Orange-Nassau in 2017 and received the fCN Gassan Jewel Award in October 2023.
Target emission
Ava wishes to borrow € 2.500.000 for the following purposes:
Working capital financing
The launch of Avy's latest device, the Aera 4, will take place very soon. Current Avy customers have indicated that they want to order this new device in larger numbers, often together with a docking station and other equipment. To start up this new production, new stock must be created, the production line must be expanded with, among other things, an extra mold set to scale up (with an extra mold set it is possible to produce parallel and therefore faster) and additional employees must be recruited and trained . That is why Avy wants to use part of the proceeds from the bond loan to strengthen working capital. A higher working capital results in the ability to fulfill more orders and grow faster as a company.
Certification of new drone device
The new aircraft has been developed, among other things, for flying over city centres. An important part of the safety systems required for this is the operation of the parachute system that is integrated in the new drone. This requires a complete test & validation program to be completed. We expect that the integration of such systems, testing and certification thereof and applying for associated permits will take approximately 9-15 months and approximately € 400.000. An important part of the costs consists of sacrificing at least 6 devices for dummy testing. Expanding the parachute during a flight exerts enormous forces on the drone device, making the device no longer usable. In addition, costs will be incurred for hiring people, travel and certification costs.
Scaling up sales organization
Due to the expected exponential market growth and the fact that Avy's customers want to grow to larger fleets of 50-100+ units, Avy will have to scale up the sales organization. To carry out these operational tasks in the sales process, Avy's Flight Operations team must be significantly expanded, including new in-house aircraft and more Flight Operators. Avy wants to use € 200.000 for this purpose towards the target amount. At the same time, Avy wants to strengthen its sales team to take advantage of more opportunities and be more visible at trade fairs and events. Avy wants to use the same amount for this. Once the target amount is reached, Avy wants to use €200.000 to open up new flight routes in Africa. With this, Avy helps local operators such as Drones for Africa to carry out flights for end customers faster. This involves emergency aid, logistics in rural areas and monitoring and inspection of important infrastructure.
Investments in R&D
In order to maintain Avy's leading position and serve the market even better, it is necessary to: de to continue developing and innovating the current product portfolio.
That is why Avy wants to invest in innovations such as a cloud-based mission planning system that makes even higher autonomy feasible and to develop a better user interface. If the target amount is achieved, €500.000 will be used for this purpose. In addition to software, the hardware will also be further developed. This will focus on design upgrades of certain hardware components and embedded systems/avionics so that these components can be produced easier and faster. This will scale up production. If the target amount is achieved, €400.000 will be used for this purpose.
Risks and certainties
The holding company is the issuer of the bond. The other entities, such as the operating company, are also jointly and severally liable for the fulfillment of the obligations.
Investing always involves risks. The main risk you run is that Avy Group BV has no money to repay you or to pay the interest. This could happen, among other things, if we do not achieve sufficient turnover or because a major customer no longer purchases. Then you may not receive any repayment of the loan and you will not receive any interest.
For the full description and risk description, please refer to it Information Memorandum and the sheet with Key Investor Information.
