Startup Nation United With its drone technology, startup Xtend plays a crucial role in the ongoing war Startup Nation United With its drone technology, startup Xtend plays a crucial role in the ongoing war Xtend CEO Aviv Shapira gives insights into how their team has dedicated 100% of their efforts to partnership with the IDF In our series, we have interviewed tens of companies that have stepped up and stepped in to help Israeli society as the war with Hamas rages on. Today we spotlight Aviv Shapira, CEO and co-founder of Xtend, the human-supervised AI-powered robotics company whose technology continues to directly assist IDF’s activities during this war. Xtend’s story is part of Startup Nation United, a series showcasing how individuals and organizations in the tech industry have united under a common vision to do their part during the ongoing war. The podcast is produced and moderated by Michael Matias and Yaffa Abadi, in collaboration with CTech, as a spin-off of the popular podcast series “20 Minutes Leaders”, also published in collaboration with CTech. Aviv, a serial entrepreneur, has worked in the defense industry for many years now. His goal with Xtend was to create a technology that allows people to access remote places with virtual reality technology. In 2019, their POC was intercepting booby-trapped balloons and kites from Gaza, but the threats today are far more severe, and the work of Xtend more impactful than ever. Four days after October 7th, the IDF chose Xtend as one of their core partners in the war against Hamas. Since then, their team has put its former activities on hold and redirected energies to supporting the IDF 100%. Their focus has been on implementing advanced counter-drone technology to intercept and neutralize Hamas drones. As the collaboration has progressed, Xtend has actively addressed real-time challenges, including resolving GPS issues, dealing with terrorist tunnels, and deploying their systems to enable soldiers to explore highly dangerous areas remotely. This strategic approach minimizes the risks associated with on-foot entry into these zones. Aviv walks us through the rapid evolution Xtend has undergone in the last two months since stepping into this role as one of the IDF’s key partners and the challenges his team has faced and overcome. “We’ve received more orders in the past two months than the rest of the entire 2022 year combined. What used to be manufacturing 10 to 50 systems in a month has become 300 to 500 in a month. What used to be software upgrades once a month has become software upgrades every single day.” But understanding the gravity of their contribution has added a level of motivation and fuel to every team member’s work that allows them to accommodate these increased demands, and stay resilient through it all. Aviv testifies on the sense of motivation and urgency and how it has turned Xtend into one of the most operational companies in their field, “A lot of companies can sell products for a future war, but we are at war. We are using the products every day. We’re saving lives. We were the first drones to enter Be’erik, Faraza, and deal directly (indoors, outdoors, and face to face) with these terrorists. We learned so much from that.” With many of their team on reserve duty, they have also had to compensate for decreased manpower in the face of this overwhelming demand, but as a leader, Aviv has learned the power of motivation, stating, “ For me as the CEO I’m learning that you can do more with fewer people as long as you have motivation. It’s not like we have a very strict deadline to meet to make more money. We have a very, very strong goal: helping to save lives.” The story of Xtends’s focus and motivation, how each member of the company is 100% dedicated to their work with the IDF is yet another strong example of our high-tech community rising to the occasion, in the most tangible way. About: Yaffa Abadi is the founder and CEO of Abadi Brands, a boutique consultancy specializing in personal branding and thought leadership for investors. Michael Matias, Forbes 30 Under 30, is the CEO of Clarity, a startup that preserves trust in digital media by fighting deepfakes, and an active angel investor in the AI and Cyber domain.
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