Seattle-based Brinc announced $75 million in new funding and a strategic alliance with Motorola Solutions, aiming to expand production and accelerate deployment of its emergency response drones for police and other U.S. public safety agencies.
Under the alliance, Motorola will become a distributor of Brinc’s products. The companies will also integrate elements of their hardware and software — for example, allowing Motorola radios to dispatch drones from citywide Brinc 911 response drone networks.
Motorola, the mobile tech pioneer, is a major player in public safety technology, significantly expanding its business in recent years.
Brinc’s new funding round was led by its existing investor Index Ventures, with significant participation from Motorola, according to the company. Other investors in the round included Mike Volpi and Figma CEO Dylan Field.
The funds will support increased manufacturing capacity, next-generation drone research, and expansion of its workforce. The company currently has 116 employees.
The company says the new capital brings its total funding to $157.2 million. Sam Altman, the OpenAI CEO, was Brinc’s first outside backer, and he remains an investor in the company.
Founded in Las Vegas in 2019 by Blake Resnick, and now based in Seattle’s Fremont neighborhood, Brinc develops drones and related technologies for police, fire, and emergency response agencies.
The funding comes at a time of heightened tensions between the U.S. and China over tariffs and trade. Brinc is one of the drone makers that China recently placed on its “unreliable entity” list.
However, a company spokesperson notes that Brinc was already sanctioned by the Chinese government in late 2024, a move that the company says has had little impact on its operations.
“There are no meaningfully different restrictions with being on this new list,” said David Benowitz, Brinc VP for strategy and marketing communications. “We have put a ton of resources, effort and time into making our drones with components sourced from the U.S. and allied nations, and that has made us resilient.”
He added, “We think the tariffs might actually help us as they make competitive drones much more expensive.”
The company says its products are used by more than 600 public safety agencies, including more than 10% of SWAT teams in the U.S.
Brinc’s Lemur 2 drone includes features such as glass-breaking capability, onboard communication, and low-light navigation.
The company last year unveiled its Responder drone, designed to serve as a first responder, in some cases resolving calls without the need to dispatch officers, such as delivering medical supplies.
The company’s LiveOps browser-based software platform enables livestreaming, incident coordination, and digital evidence storage for first responders. The software provides real-time visibility to commanders and support teams, in addition to drone operators.
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