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Business Upturn
22-07-2025
- Business
- Business Upturn
ZenaTech's ZenaDrone Subsidiary Applies for Green UAS Certification for IQ Square Drone to Sell to US Defense and Government
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, July 22, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — ZenaTech, Inc. (Nasdaq: ZENA) (FSE: 49Q) (BMV: ZENA) ('ZenaTech'), a business technology solution provider specializing in AI (Artificial Intelligence) drones, Drone as a Service (DaaS), Enterprise SaaS, and Quantum Computing solutions, today announces that its subsidiary ZenaDrone has submitted the IQ Square drone for Green UAS (Uncrewed Aircraft System) certification, allowing it to be added to the pre-approved procurement list for US Department of Defense (DoD) and government buyers. The compact and rugged ZenaDrone IQ Square drone is designed for line-of-sight applications, including infrastructure inspections, terrain mapping, surveillance, and reconnaissance in high-risk environments. 'ZenaDrone's IQ Square Green UAS submission marks a critical milestone in our commitment to national security and defense readiness,' said Shaun Passley, Ph.D., ZenaTech CEO. 'This is not just about compliance—it's about positioning our company to meet the highest standards for US government and DoD use. Green UAS is our on-ramp to achieving Blue UAS certification which will open more doors to broader federal adoption and deployment in mission-critical operations. 'Recent policy directives from the White House, the Secretary of Defense, and Congress are creating real momentum—prioritizing US-made and secure NDAA-compliant systems like ours, while unlocking funding and accelerating procurement. The message is clear: the future of drones is American, and we are ready,' Dr. Passley added. Green UAS certification is a compliance and cybersecurity framework developed by AUVSI, the leading trade association for the uncrewed systems industry, in collaboration with the US DoD. It ensures that drones are free of components from foreign adversaries and meet rigorous standards for cybersecurity, data protection, and supply chain integrity. Green UAS certification will be streamlined for faster approvals under recent Executive Orders—paving the way for better alignment with Blue UAS certification benefiting drone makers getting products to market. Drones like the IQ Square offer critical advantages in military and government applications: real-time surveillance, infrastructure monitoring, and remote mission planning in hazardous environments. Advanced imaging tools such as LiDAR and thermal sensors enable early detection of structural vulnerabilities and security threats, while rapid mapping and ISR (intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance) functions support logistics and operational command. The ZenaDrone IQ Square is an advanced AI-powered drone designed for land surveys and various types of inspections and reconnaissance missions in defense applications. The drone has a 40 x 40' and 50'x50' VTOL (Vertical Takeoff and Landing) frame with autonomous charging capabilities and delivers 20-25 minutes of flight time. It is equipped to use AI-driven cameras and sensors for mission-ready performance across defense and tactical applications. About ZenaTech ZenaTech (Nasdaq: ZENA) (FSE: 49Q) (BMV: ZENA) is a business technology solution provider specializing in AI drone, Drone as a Service (DaaS), enterprise SaaS and Quantum Computing solutions for mission-critical business applications. Since 2017, the Company has leveraged its software development expertise and grown its drone design and manufacturing capabilities through ZenaDrone, to innovate and improve customer inspection, monitoring, safety, security, compliance, and surveying processes. With enterprise software customers using branded solutions in law enforcement, government, and industrial sectors, and drones being implemented in agriculture, defense, logistics and land survey sectors, ZenaTech's portfolio of solutions helps drive exceptional operational efficiencies, precision, and cost savings. The Company operates through offices in North America, Europe, Taiwan, and UAE, and is growing its DaaS business and network in the US. About ZenaDrone ZenaDrone, a wholly owned subsidiary of ZenaTech, develops and manufactures autonomous business drone solutions that can incorporate machine learning software, AI, predictive modeling, Quantum Computing, and other software and hardware innovations. Created to revolutionize the hemp farming sector, its specialization has grown to multifunctional drone solutions for industrial surveillance, monitoring, inspection, process automation and defense applications. Currently, the ZenaDrone 1000 drone is used for crop management applications in agriculture and critical field cargo applications in the defense sector, the IQ Nano indoor drone is used for inventory management and security in the warehouse and logistics sectors, and the IQ Square is an outdoor drone designed for land survey and inspections use in commercial and defense sectors. Contacts for more information: Company, Investors, and Media: Linda Montgomery ZenaTech 312-241-1415 [email protected] Investors: Michael Mason CORE IR [email protected] Safe Harbor This press release and related comments by management of ZenaTech, Inc. include 'forward-looking statements' within the meaning of U.S. federal securities laws and applicable Canadian securities laws. These forward-looking statements are subject to the safe harbor provisions under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. This forward-looking information relates to future events or future performance of ZenaTech and reflects management's expectations and projections regarding ZenaTech's growth, results of operations, performance, and business prospects and opportunities. Such forward-looking statements reflect management's current beliefs and are based on information currently available to management. In some cases, forward-looking information can be identified by terminology such as 'may', 'will', 'should', 'expect', 'plan', 'anticipate', 'aim', 'seek', 'is/are likely to', 'believe', 'estimate', 'predict', 'potential', 'continue' or the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology intended to identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking information in this document includes, but is not limited to ZenaTech's expectations regarding its revenue, expenses, production, operations, costs, cash flows, and future growth; expectations with respect to future production costs and capacity; ZenaTech's ability to deliver products to the market as currently contemplated, including its drone products including ZenaDrone 1000 and IQ Nano; ZenaTech's anticipated cash needs and it's needs for additional financing; ZenaTech's intention to grow the business and its operations and execution risk; expectations with respect to future operations and costs; the volatility of stock prices and market conditions in the industries in which ZenaTech operates; political, economic, environmental, tax, security, and other risks associated with operating in emerging markets; regulatory risks; unfavorable publicity or consumer perception; difficulty in forecasting industry trends; the ability to hire key personnel; the competitive conditions of the industry and the competitive and business strategies of ZenaTech; ZenaTech's expected business objectives for the next twelve months; ZenaTech's ability to obtain additional funds through the sale of equity or debt commitments; investment capital and market share; the ability to complete any contemplated acquisitions; changes in the target markets; market uncertainty; ability to access additional capital, including through the listing of its securities in various jurisdictions; management of growth (plans and timing for expansion); patent infringement; litigation; applicable laws, regulations, and any amendments affecting the business of ZenaTech. Disclaimer: The above press release comes to you under an arrangement with GlobeNewswire. Business Upturn takes no editorial responsibility for the same. Ahmedabad Plane Crash
Toronto Star
19-05-2025
- Business
- Toronto Star
How a Toronto tech company is fusing AI with drones to change how we view the world
Heads up — drone technology is about to reshape your world. Though many are familiar with its gimmickier applications — aerial cameras, light shows — advancements in artificial intelligence and drone hardware are creating new uses that can save time, money and lives. 'I like to think of this as the post-World War II change in our society, where people went from growing our food and the bargaining system to where we are today,' says Shaun Passley, CEO of Toronto-based AI drone maker ZenaTech. 'That's now going to change dramatically into a different phase — something more sci-fi.' Founded in 2018, ZenaTech works with Fortune 500 companies deploying drones for tasks like indoor barcode tracking, military applications, emergency services for search and rescue, catching criminals and surveillance, farmers for precision agriculture and livestock management, municipalities for targeted aerial firefighting, and developers for land surveying and building inspection. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW Measuring seven by 13 feet, the company's latest product, the ZenaDrone 1000, is its largest, most powerful and most intelligent product yet, offering longer flight times and a carrying capacity of up to 40 kilograms. 'The first two production drones are off the production line, they're being tested, and we'll have another 10 coming out in April, and then we'll be doing a minimum of 10 drones per month,' Passley says. 'We're hoping to start doing demos for the U.S. Defense Department, with NATO, with Canada's Defence Department, with Canadian law enforcement, and with law enforcement around the world.' The Chicago-born entrepreneur says he began toying with tech as a youngster after his brother was gifted an Apple II computer that appealed more to the younger sibling. 'I knew who Steve Jobs was when I was eight,' Passley says. Business L'Oréal Canada CEO on how the 'lipstick effect' drives the 'essential' beauty business 'Sometimes people look at beauty as a little bit superficial,' says L'Oréal Canada CEO An Passley started working as a computer technician in high school, while saving for his first venture. Unlike his tech industry heroes like Jobs, Bill Gates, Michael Dell and Larry Ellison, who all dropped out of college, Passley went in the opposite direction. After earning a bachelor of science degree and a master's in information technology, Passley completed a one-year MBA, a masters in product development, a PhD in business leadership and a masters in intellectual property law. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW The Star spoke with Passley from the head office of ZenaDrone, ZenaTech's subsidiary in Phoenix, Arizona, about how drones are poised to revolutionize a range of industries and services, how it can help save time, money, and lives, and why he isn't concerned about tariffs — or an American invasion. How did you go from making software for teachers to making drones for the military? When I founded Epazz in 1999, colleges didn't have a lot of services online yet. Now you can easily register for classes, download the syllabus, upload your work, but those things weren't taking place. So, we created a course tool, and eventually a campus portal for colleges. The issue is it took me a year to develop it, and in 2000 the industry crashed; there was no capital, so there were no staff; it was just me. The good thing is I ended up with 100 per cent ownership, so I changed the campus portal into a business portal and was able to get a few clients and use the capital to acquire other companies. Business The long journey for a kid in the ball pit to top job at Ikea Canada Ikea Canada CEO and chief sustainability officer Selwyn Crittendon, says he was attracted to the I started to build Epazz through the acquisition of about 15 companies over the next 10 years. Then in 2017 we developed ZenaPay as a spinoff of Epazz. This was right before Canada legalized cannabis, and we created a software package that would facilitate transactions using a bitcoin wallet. As we talked to customers, we learned they were concerned about black market cannabis entering the Canadian market, and they wanted a way to track products from seed to store. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW We had a facial recognition software package that identifies key elements of a person's face, and we wanted to use the same concept on plants. The initial idea was to use the program to distinguish between male and female hemp plants, and we went to Ireland in 2019 to test it. The problem was we were using a third-party drone, which didn't have the sensors to adjust for Ireland's unique terrain. Where I grew up in Illinois the land is completely flat, but in Ireland they grow plants on the sides of mountains and in valleys, and it was raining multiple times a day. In addition, there's a lot of work that goes into learning how to fly a commercial drone, so it wasn't something a farmer could do on their own. That's where we came up with the concept for a drone that can scan different terrain and adjust automatically, without a human operator. Why start the company in Toronto? That had to do with the cannabis industry. Business 'It still blows me away.' Meet the accidental developer leading the charge of Toronto's massive city-within-a-city at Downsview With 400 acres to work with, Northcrest Developments CEO Derek Goring is 'excited about its Epazz was a public company, which means it's federally regulated, and cannabis is still illegal in the United States at the federal level, so we moved the entity to Canada. We have offices in the United States and around the world, but ZenaTech is registered and headquartered in Canada. We have 10 people in our Toronto head office and another small office in Vancouver, and we expect to hire another 20 or 30 in Canada in the next 12 months. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW How many employees do you have total? Over 100 in Canada, the United States, Ireland, Germany, Turkey, Taiwan, the UAE, and soon in India. We're hiring a lot more this year. What makes your drones unique? DJI is the primary competitor, and what they've done is brilliant in terms of software integration, but they're using a frame system with four motors that essentially hovers and moves like a helicopter. Ours is more of a vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) system that transitions into a fixed-wing plane, and we can add more attachments, more cargo, and you can switch out sensors, so it's got a lot of potential applications. What are some of the primary applications? We have a drone that's 10 inches by 10 inches, the IQ Nano, used primarily for surveillance. Then we have one that's 20 by 20, and that's mostly for indoor inventory. We can use multiple drones at the same time indoors to do inventory faster, and what makes our system unique is that people can be present. Normally if you're doing drone inventory you need to shut down that section of the facility, but we have object avoidance sensors that let you operate as normal. And if one drone is low on battery it will fly back to the home station and another one will replace it and continue scanning. Then we have our ZenaDrone IQ Square, which is 41-by-41 inches, and that's mostly used for land surveys. Right now, land surveys are done with just a person and a stick and maybe a camera system, and it can take weeks or even months, so we can save customers thousands or even tens of thousands of dollars. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW We're also in the initial stages of using the technology for housing developments, so that our drones can generate construction progress reports, and even go indoors and create 3D maps of properties as they're being built. Using artificial intelligence, it could even do building inspection in the early stages of development. Then the ZenaDrone 1000, the production version is seven feet by 13 feet. It can scan farmland to determine which areas need to be treated and treat those areas. Business How a high-tech vertical farm in Ontario could help reduce our need for U.S. produce With indoor farms for leafy greens near Guelph, Montreal, Calgary and Halifax, GoodLeaf CEO Andy And right now, when you see a helicopter in an urban setting, hopefully in the next five years you'll see a drone instead, whether it's in law enforcement, conducting search and rescue operations transporting medical supplies, or putting out building or wildfires, which is one of our top use cases right now. Why's that? Right now, they're using airplanes and helicopters and basically eyeballing it. They fly low and slow over a wildfire, which is very dangerous, and we are working on a Drone swarm of 200 ZenaDrone 1000s that can carry as much water as a $35 million airplane for a fraction of the cost, can get lower to the ground and use sensors to target the hottest spots. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW What do you say to those who think this technology should not be used in law enforcement or military contexts? In the United States and Canada, I believe we defend our countries responsibly, and if drones replace humans so that they're not in the line of fire, we can save a life on our side. That makes war less harmful to our countries, and we're only working with NATO-allied countries. Business Bill Gates opens up about his obsessive tendencies, dropping acid — and his three-hour dinner with Donald Trump Gates's new memoir tells the story of a curious, intense child. 'At the time nobody was taking The same with police officers; if we can replace front line officers in dangerous situations with unmanned drones you can prevent the loss of life for police officers. We can also equip drones with less lethal ways of apprehending suspects and potentially save their lives as well. Many Canadians would say the two countries aren't as aligned as they used to be and may even fear military action across the border. The notion of Canada becoming the 51st state won't happen. It would be like adding another California and giving the Democrats tremendous political influence. We're non-partisan, personally and as a company, but I don't see this as a real threat or a long-term issue. What about tariffs? Has that created a challenge? We see ourselves as a helicopter replacement solution; a helicopter costs $5 million, and our ZenaDrone 1000 is $150,000 to $200,000. If you add another 25 per cent onto that — or 50 per cent, or 200 per cent — we're still saving our customers a tremendous amount of money.
