# Sunflower Labs

> Sunflower Labs builds the Beehive - a fully autonomous, AI-powered drone security system for large outdoor properties. Its 'Bee' drone lives inside a weatherproof 'Hive' base station, launches within seconds of a triggered sensor, patrols a property while avoiding obstacles in nearly any weather, streams HD and thermal video, then returns to recharge on its own. Founded in 2016 and based in Zurich and San Francisco, the company pitches drones as a lower-cost, faster-responding alternative to human security patrols for industrial sites, commercial campuses, and high-value residential properties.

- **Founded:** 2016
- **Headquarters:** San Francisco, USA / Stallikon, Zurich, Switzerland
- **Founders:** Alex Pachikov (Co-founder & CEO), Chris Eheim (Co-founder & CTO), Nick de Palezieux (Co-founder)
- **Team size:** ~43 employees
- **Products:** The Beehive System, The Bee (drone), The Hive (base station), System Design Tool
- **Notable:** Built what it describes as the world's first fully autonomous, AI-powered drone-in-a-box security system., Secured a nationwide FAA BVLOS waiver covering ~99% of U.S. airspace, including flights over people and vehicles., Raised a $16M Series B led by Sequoia Capital in November 2025 (~$39M total funding).

## Products & services

- **The Beehive System** — A fully autonomous drone-in-a-box security platform combining the Bee drone and the Hive base station for monitoring, security, and inspection of large outdoor properties.
- **The Bee (drone)** — Autonomous quadcopter with low-light cameras, optional thermal payload, obstacle avoidance, and AI detection of people, vehicles, and animals; launches in seconds and operates in 99% of weather conditions with a ~600m radius.
- **The Hive (base station)** — Weatherproof docking station that houses, charges, and processes data for the Bee, enabling rapid re-deployment - ready again in minutes, rain or shine.
- **System Design Tool** — Interactive online configurator for planning drone coverage and deployment on a property.

## Achievements

- Built what it describes as the world's first fully autonomous, AI-powered drone-in-a-box security system.
- Secured a nationwide FAA BVLOS waiver covering ~99% of U.S. airspace, including flights over people and vehicles.
- Raised a $16M Series B led by Sequoia Capital in November 2025 (~$39M total funding).
- Doubled its customer base and grew autonomous patrols tenfold in a single year.
- Shipping commercial systems since 2022 to customers including Swiss railways and LA communities.
- Achieved ISO/IEC 27001:2022 cybersecurity certification.

## Latest updates

- **2025-11** — Raised $16M Series B led by Sequoia Capital and secured a nationwide FAA BVLOS waiver covering 99% of U.S. airspace.
- **2025-11** — Reported doubling its customer base and a tenfold increase in autonomous patrols over the prior year; announced plans to expand across the U.S., Europe, and Latin America.
- **2025** — Launched an interactive System Design tool for planning drone deployments.

## Links

- Website: https://sunflower-labs.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/sunflower-labs
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/sunflower_labs
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtx3HghhZWC9I0mdyVw33ZA
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/sunflowerlabs/

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/sunflower-labs
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-07-10