Originally reported by e27.co. This article summarises the key details from that report, dated June 2019.
H3 Dynamics Eyes Final Close of US$16M Series B Round
Singapore-headquartered H3 Dynamics, a startup that automates remote security and industrial asset inspection using drones, robotics, and AI, was in the process of closing a US$16 million Series B financing round as of June 2019. The round is led by existing investor SPARX Mirai Creation Fund, a Japanese fund backed by Toyota, SMBC, and SPARX Group.
According to Group Founder and CEO Taras Wankewycz, a first closing of US$6 million had already been secured, with the remaining US$10 million in final closing progressing at the time of the report. Existing Series A investors — Capital Management Group (Seychelles) and ACA Investments (Singapore) — also participated in the new round.
“Due diligence is in progress with several corporate VCs of global multi-nationals as well as VCs from Singapore, Europe, and Silicon Valley. We expect to close our Series B round by the end of August, and this will be our final private round.”
— Taras Wankewycz, Group Founder and CEO, H3 Dynamics
What H3 Dynamics Builds
Founded in 2015 by Wankewycz and later joined by Shaun Koo (CTO) and Cher Chuan Lee (VP Engineering), H3 Dynamics is building a combined software and hardware platform designed to automate the full cycle of complex, dangerous, or remote data acquisition and processing. The company does not manufacture drones itself; instead, it integrates with and automates existing drones, partnering with specialist drone makers to deliver specific industrial solutions.
Its platform is built around two core products:
- H3 Zoom — a cloud-based digital micro-services platform that uses machine learning and built-in inspection workflows to convert scanned image data into structured inspection reports.
- DBX — a field-deployable tele-robotics base station for drones, designed for automated scanning of commercial assets in remote or uninhabited locations, and for responsive surveillance at client sites.
H3 Zoom: AI-Powered Inspection Reporting
H3 Zoom applies a proprietary machine learning engine to identify, qualify, and map surface defects across 3D models or 2D blueprints of inspected structures. The platform supports a range of asset types including buildings, ships, and solar photovoltaic (PV) farms. Once analysis is complete, it automatically generates a health-check report formatted to match industry-standard paper reports, which can be downloaded by operators or contractors from anywhere.
According to the company, an initial test involving a building scan in Brazil produced a 1,400-page inspection report within minutes — though this figure comes from H3 Dynamics itself and has not been independently verified.
DBX: Autonomous Drone Operations Without a Pilot
DBX is H3 Dynamics’ tele-robotics base station, designed with a future in mind where human pilots are not required at the point of operation. The system provides automated drone scanning for assets in remote or difficult-to-access locations, as well as a surveillance and security capability for client sites. H3 Zoom and DBX are designed to work together as a closed-loop system — data collected in the field by DBX feeds directly into the H3 Zoom platform for processing and reporting.
Market Focus: Singapore and Beyond
Wankewycz described Singapore as the company’s primary reference market, with immediate commercial opportunities in real estate, maritime, and oil and gas. He cited Singapore’s foreign labour reduction targets, along with worker safety and productivity goals, as driving demand for robotics and automation solutions.
“Singapore has all the ingredients that can make us successful in our first commercial phase. Our core technology blueprint can easily be translated from local use cases to other types of large-scale infrastructure that doesn’t exist in Singapore, such as large hydro-power dams or large-scale solar PV farms — calling for further deployments of our solutions outside Singapore.”
— Taras Wankewycz
The company had already gained traction in the real estate sector with a micro-service focused on high-rise façade inspection, which was intended as the template for a broader suite of inspection services. The long-term ambition is to host the entire infrastructure inspection industry on a single platform, deployable via both pilot-assisted and fully autonomous systems.
Funding History and Recent Milestones
- February 2017: H3 Dynamics raised US$7 million in a Series A round from ACA Partners and Capital Management Group.
- May 2019: The company won the Echelon Asia Summit 2019 grand finale and received S$50,000 in grants from Enterprise Singapore.
- June 2019 (at time of reporting): Series B round at US$16 million, with US$6 million already closed and US$10 million in final closing, expected to complete by end of August 2019.
Growth Plans
Wankewycz indicated that following the Series B close, the company planned to grow its team to scale revenue and expand its product line. He also noted that H3 Dynamics’ data collection ecosystem would expand beyond drones to include other forms of robotics sourced from third-party partners, enabling the platform to support a wider range of industrial use cases.
Source: e27.co (June 2019)