Flix Systems

Martin Garcia came to drones from a background in mechatronics and solar energy. After working as CTO on solar technology at a previous company, Lumexico, he studied for a master's degree in the UK, where his thesis became the foundation of his business model: automating UAVs. A summer program at Singularity University had convinced him that material science, computer algorithms, and sensors would drive UAVs to grow very quickly at low cost.

Martin's thesis is that the value of a drone lies in its payload and the intelligence built on top of it. Flix Systems set out to combine its own hardware with software and algorithms, so its drones could do more than fly off-the-shelf DJI models can. The company's biggest planned differentiator is a landing platform that swaps batteries, shelters the UAV from weather, and lets it operate remotely. By 2017 the company was still preoperative and building prototypes with roughly $100,000 raised, "about two million pesos."

Flix Systems' early revenue came from service work rather than drone sales. Martin said the company was "providing a service" to a solar company, a separate business he described as a client. The company was also preparing a precision agriculture prototype to send to several states in Mexico. Its initial project covered about 300 hectares at roughly $15 to $20 per hectare, a pilot Nathan estimated at about $6,000. Martin did not state a revenue figure for the first month, and the company did not sell the drones themselves, because it wanted to optimize the product and keep control of the technology.

The strongest point in Martin's approach is his focus on interpretation rather than raw data. He argued that customers want "the end solution and not only the data," with AI used to read the images the drones collect. Mexico's looser drone regulations and smaller operator pool also gave him room to move. The weak points were visible in the interview: the team was only three or four people, the revenue was spread across side projects, and when Nathan asked why DJI or a competitor couldn't simply hire salespeople in Mexico, Martin's answer was less direct than the question required. Nathan also pushed him on why he was taking on hardware at all when his advantage appeared to be in software.

As of the interview, Flix Systems was generating early revenue through a solar client and a planned agriculture pilot, with the autonomous drone and landing platform still in development. Martin said he would be getting married later that year. Nathan planned to check back on the company as it grew.