xCraft

xCraft is creating a fleet of drones designed for commercial and consumer applications.

In 2017, the company raised more than $1 million through a crowdfunding round. Now it's seeking additional capital to accelerate its growth.

xCraft is targeting the rapidly-growing global drone market. According to TechSci Research, a consulting company, this industry is projected to reach $16 billion by 2022.

Unlike its competitors, xCraft’s drones fly at speeds of more than 100 miles per hour, and cover an extended range during a single flight.

Patented technology enables the drones to have what the company calls “unlimited connectivity” to devices such as smartphones and tablets. In addition, xCraft’s drones can take off and land vertically.

Team Background

Charles Manning - Founder, Director

An aviation enthusiast, Charles was immediately excited about working with JD to help make the X PlusOne a reality.

Charles is founder and CEO of Kochava, a leading mobile attribution analytics platform company serving tier-one advertisers world-wide.

Beginning his career at Oracle, Charles later held executive and C-Level positions at M-Code, Managed Objects, and PLAYXPERT.

Prior to founding Kochava, Charles founded PLAYXPERT – which started as a gaming technology platform. After licensing the PLAYXPERT technology to Razer, Charles built a team that focused its time on building engagement platforms for entrepreneurs and agencies.

JD Claridge - CEO and Co-Founder

JD was born with a passion for flight. Building and crashing flying toys throughout his youth taught him much about the science and art of flight vehicle design. He once built a (mostly) functional hang glider at the age of 7 and convinced his best friend to test fly it.

JD’s passion for flight runs deeply through all of his pursuits. As a certified pilot, electrical engineer, airframe mechanic, and Designated Engineering Representative (DER) for the FAA, he has held key engineering roles at several aerospace OEMs and has founded his own aerospace consulting firm; Aero Designworks.

In October of 2015, JD and xCraft co-founder Charles Manning were featured on ABC’s Shark Tank, making history by negotiating an unprecedented deal with all five Sharks. This catapulted xCraft into the center of the public spotlight and made household names out of xCraft’s launch products; PhoneDrone Ethos and X PlusOne.

Kevin Nichols - CFO

For the past 20 years, Kevin has been an independent consulting-CFO and founder in several start-up ventures, including aviation, mapping, and remote-sensing companies.

He is a CPA, and after his start in public accounting, Kevin spent many years in R/E finance, development, and banking.

He is a graduate of Boise State University, majoring in Finance and Accounting.

Co-Investors