Israel automated drone startup Airobotics has launched its North American headquarters in Scottsdale, Arizona, where it will run all North America, South America and Central America operations.

The Scottsdale office is intended to become the company’s global headquarters as Airobotics continues to scale up, with the world’s largest mining company, BHP, the company’s first customer in the US.

Airobotics says it has created the only data-driven, fully automated drone solution enabling a new dimension of data collection and insights.

Ran Krauss, CEO and Co-Founder of Airobotics, said Arizona was the obvious choice for its new global headquarters.

“When deciding where to launch our first US office, Arizona was the top choice for us as it has a strong mining industry, great weather conditions for drone testing, and potential partners we’re excited to work with. The state and local governments are very supportive of autonomous and aviation technologies and the UAV industry specifically, aligning with our plans to operate UAVs beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) in the US.”

The opening ceremony attendees were invited to tour the facility and observe a demonstration of Airobotics’ automated drone system. The company plans to grow the Scottsdale team to 80 employees by the end of 2019, focusing on recruiting local technology, operations and sales personnel.

Airobotics says its automated solution represents the next generation of drone operations, overtaking standard piloted services. It was the first company worldwide to be granted authorisation to fly fully automated pilotless drones, certified by the Civil Aviation Authority of Israel.

The company is headquartered in Israel and has offices in Australia, as well as additional operations in Chile and New Caledonia. It has raised $71 million in funding to date and grown from 80 to 200 employees in its first year.