Controversial drone company Xtend leans into defense with new $40 million round

Published on May 9, 2024

CMU drone flying above wildfire

Close to a decade ago, brothers Aviv and Matteo Shapira co-founded a company, Replay, that created a video format for 360-degree replays — the sorts of replays that have become part and parcel of major sports broadcasts.

Replay caught the attention of Intel, which acquired the company in 2016 for a  reported $175 million, and led Aviv and Matteo to a chance meeting with Rubi Liani, the founder of Israeli’s official drone racing league (FRIL).

Liani turned the brothers on to drone racing — and planted the seed of the idea for their next startup, Xtend, which he helped found.

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