Back To News/PR Index | | Cape Productions Launches Drone Video Service at Select Winter Resorts Across North America | Company Announces Over $10 million in Funding from New Enterprise Associates, XSeed Capital, Madrona Venture Group, S-Cubed Capital and the Commercial Drone Fund to Offer Autonomous Drone Video Service to Skiers & Snowboarders || Cape has created a new way to use autonomous drone technology to beautifully capture people’s favorite outdoor experiences without taking them out of the moment or requiring any additional work. Cape’s first official winter season follows successfully filming hundreds of customers in Canada last season, in addition to aiding the U.S. Ski Team with their training in New Zealand this summer. With a Series A led by New Enterprise Associates, Cape has raised $10.4 million of capital since its founding in June 2014. “Time with friends and family
in the outdoors is sacred. Capturing video of these experiences and managing
camera equipment takes us out of the moment, and video editing is both
difficult and time consuming. Today, we are excited to announce the start
of a new chapter in drones and consumer video as a whole,” said Jason Soll,
CEO and co-founder of Cape. “We’ve taken a completely different approach
by doing all of the hard work for our customers in a way that is fast,
affordable, and beautiful. To make this possible, we spent the last year
and a half building one of the safest large-scale drone operations in the
world and offering our customers an experience that truly rivals being
a movie star with a professional film crew. Everyone, regardless of their
age or skill, should be able to get amazing video of their favorite experiences
without any additional work. We believe that this approach is the best
way for drones to serve the majority of people.”
Cape’s drones automatically fly with you to capture your favorite moments on snow at a quality level that has, until now, only been found in professional ski movies. Customers sign up, meet Cape on the mountain, and get filmed by the drones while riding. Soon after completing their runs, customers receive a professionally edited and published video online to share with friends and family. Cape’s proprietary drone technology maintains safe distances from the ground and all major obstacles like trees, chairlifts and crowded areas, while still tracking riders. Additionally, Cape’s drones can fly up to 40 mph, staying ahead of even the most hardcore athletes, while withstanding the treacherous weather conditions and high altitudes found at mountain resorts. Cape has partnered with leading resorts across North America to bring the service to their guests. Launch dates for each resort, as well as new resort locations, will be announced in November and continue throughout the season. Current resort partnerships include Winter Park Resort (CO), Copper Mountain (CO), Timberline Lodge (OR), Mount Hood Meadows (OR), Powder Mountain (UT), Homewood Mountain (CA), Mountain Creek (NY), Fernie Alpine Resort (British Columbia), and Schweitzer Mountain (ID). Cape has filmed riders in Canada under Transport Canada approval since last year and is approved to fly at Canadian resorts this winter. In the US, Cape has operated under Section 333 FAA approval since April 2015 and is currently working with the agency to finalize its approval for broader ski resort operations in the States. While personal drone use is banned across most resorts, Cape has worked with government, resort officials and the National Ski Areas Association (NSAA) to safely bring their drone video service to the public. “Since its founding, Cape has worked closely with ski resorts, as well as NSAA, to create the new gold standard for safe drone operations at ski areas for both winter and summer recreational activities,” said Dave Byrd, Director of Risk and Regulatory Affairs for the National Ski Areas Association. U.S. Ski Team and Cape
Cape’s team includes Google[x] alumni and Stanford engineers, along with world class athletes - including a former U.S. Ski Team member and former pro snowboarder. For more information about Cape, visit www.cape.com. Media Contact:
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