George Matus, CEO of TEAL Drones, started the company when he was still in high school.
"What's interesting about the drone industry and a reason I started TEAL, was that all drones today are coming mostly out of China. There's not yet been an American leading drone company and our goal was to be that American drone leader to be able to provide a trusted, really capable drone that can show these really positive things that these technologies can perform," he says.
His love of flying started when he was a child. "When I was young I couldn't get my pilot's license yet so the way I could experience that freedom was through RC planes. So I started saving up for my next RC plane and helicopter and eventually got into drones," he says.
His passion has gone from that freedom that flying gives to helping in the fight for freedom.
TEAL's main product is named 'The Golden Eagle' and there are hundreds of them in Ukraine right now, with more on the way.
"What we've known for a while, and what people are starting to see how is that this technology can be one of the most impactful things in a war like Ukraine. They show you what's over the next hill or around the next corner and that situational awareness is absolutely critical," says Matus.
Matus says almost every branch of the U.S. Defense Department is buying TEAL drones, but they're not the only customer.s
The drones are also being used by public safety officials and in search and rescue efforts to find missing hikers and skiers. Businesses that do inspections of things like bridges and cell phone towers are using them and so are ranchers to herd cattle.
And Matus sees a future in drones, even beyond what they're capable of today.
"Something that TEAL is looking to enable moving forward, is having one person control a whole fleet of drones at the same time, and imagine having 20 drones searching the face of a mountain for a missing hiker or skier and being able to do that in seconds," he says.
To learn more, please visit: tealdrones.com.
