Thread (formerly Airtonomy)
Drone software platform for autonomous inspection of critical infrastructure including wind turbines and utility lines.
Thread, formerly known as Airtonomy, was a venture-backed software company founded in 2017 and headquartered in Grand Forks, North Dakota. The company embedded unmanned aerial systems and robotics with AI-powered software that enabled customers to inspect critical infrastructure autonomously, including wind turbines, power transmission lines, and other industrial assets. Thread's platform ingested aerial imagery from multi-drone systems and applied artificial intelligence to detect faults and anomalies before they led to failure, reducing unplanned downtime for energy and utility operators.
The company grew out of research conducted at the University of North Dakota and was co-founded by CEO Joshua Riedy alongside Chief Operating Officer Jim Higgins and Chief Computer Scientist Travis Desell. Thread raised a $15 million Series A in October 2023 and partnered with Falcker, a developer of the Asset Care Platform, to advance fully autonomous inspection of industrial assets. Its technology served customers in agriculture, energy, and public safety sectors who required precise, repeatable aerial data collection at scale.
The company received funding support from North Dakota's Job Development Authority and the Bank of North Dakota. However, Thread ceased operations in late 2025 after requesting early exit from its lease obligations at the city-owned HIVE building in Grand Forks, with outstanding loan obligations to state and municipal lenders. At its peak the company demonstrated the viability of enterprise-scale autonomous drone inspection as a software-as-a-service offering for the energy infrastructure market.
Primary type & automation activities this supplier delivers:
Autonomous Drone Inspection Platform
AI-powered software platform for autonomous multi-drone inspection of energy and utility infrastructure.
Contact Thread (formerly Airtonomy)
WEBSITE
https://thread.one/PHONE
+1 (701) 330-0157HEADQUARTERS
United States
Company Facts
Founded
2017
Primary Role
Software/Algorithm
Company Size
-
Primary Region
North America
Annual Sales
-
Funding Stage
-
Funding Total
-
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