The shareholders of Robin Radar and investment company Parcom have reached an agreement on the acquisition by Parcom of Robin Radar, a leading developer of radar systems specialised in detecting and tracking small flying objects. In partnership with Parcom, Robin Radar’s management aims to continue its current growth trajectory. In the coming years, the company will focus on expanding its presence in existing markets, while targeting growth in new sectors and geographies, particularly North America.
Founded in 2010 as a TNO spin-off, headquartered in The Hague, Netherlands, Robin Radar has established itself as a global leader in radar systems designed to detect and classify birds and drones. The company’s radar solutions serve a range of critical industries, including defence, security, civil and military aviation, and wind farms. It provides innovative solutions to reduce bird strikes as well as drone-related security risks. Robin Radar’s unique technology, particularly its proprietary software, has made it the radar solution of choice for a diverse range of applications. Since an initial investment from SHIFT Invest and INKEF in 2012, Robin Radar has realised an impressive 30x revenue growth.
With this new partnership, Robin Radar is set to expand its presence in key markets. The company will further invest in the development of new radar solutions to meet the changing needs within the sector. In addition to product development, Robin Radar will focus on increasing its sales and services rollout in the rapidly growing defence and civil market segments, including in North America. To facilitate joint growth,, Robin Radar and Parcom will drive an ambitious scale-up strategy, expanding the organisation and increasing assembly outsourcing.
“We are super excited about the partnership with Parcom. It marks a new chapter in our adventure to rollout, scale up and innovate. With their support, we are well-positioned to accelerate these ambitions and continue delivering high-quality radar solutions that meet the growing needs of our customers."
Siete Hamminga, CEO of Robin Radar
“Robin Radar’s innovative approach to radar technology has allowed them to make a significant impact across multiple sectors. We are impressed by the experienced management team and open, collaborative team culture, both fundamental to the company’s success. We are thrilled to support the team’s ambitious plans for growth, particularly as the company expands internationally and into new markets.“
Norman Bremer, Partner at Parcom
Financial details of the transaction will not be disclosed. The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals. On the seller side, the transaction was guided by William Blair.
About Robin Radar
Robin Radar is a radar solutions provider, based in The Hague, The Netherlands. The company is a technology leader in radar tracking and classification of small objects. Its mission is to provide actionable information to increase safety. Marcel Verdonk, Robin Radar’s Chief Commercial Officer: “We believe that bird and drone radars will become THE safety standard within defence operations and at critical infrastructures, like power plants, prisons and harbours, as well as bigger airports and wind farms.”
Mitigating the environmental impact of wind farms
With the increase of wind farm development comes a lack of suitable locations, driving developers closer to Nature 2000 areas and offshore. Wind farm operators are required to assess the potential impact on birds and often to implement measures to mitigate bird mortality. This is how Robin’s full 3D bird radar, MAX, became part of wind farm development and operations spanning from North to South America and Europe to Australia; pausing turbines in the case of massive migration of birds.
Prevent ‘bird strikes’ in aviation
Collisions between birds and planes, bird strikes, are more common than most people think. Every year approximately 21,000 bird strikes are reported, meaning 50-60 occur every day. This is why all bigger airports have ‘bird control units’ to monitor and disperse birds. In most cases they use binoculars, but airports like Copenhagen, Bilbao, Amsterdam, Berlin and Frankfurt have implemented Robin bird radars to enhance their situational awareness. This allows them to monitor bird movements up to 10 kilometres all around, day and night. The radar output is displayed in real-time on tablets in the bird control vehicles. They can then disperse birds from critical space , by, for example, using speakers on their rooftop to play a range of species-specific acoustic distress calls. When, in 2021 , the Robin team learned that over 100 airports use these distress calls via a UK company called Scarecrow, they acquired the company to synergise bird control in aviation.
Protecting against the hostile use of drones
In 2014, Robin Radar started investing in the development of purpose-built systems to detect drones and automatically distinguish them from birds, using micro-doppler. This means they can detect speed differences within the object to identify the presence of rotor blades. The performance and maturity of their latest 3D drone radar, IRIS, addresses evolving counter-drone challenges within both defence and security.
Technology Leadership
“It is unique to witness the rise of a radar company and be part of it. When I came on board, we were with just 17 people. It is fantastic to see how we became a technology leader in our domain in such a relatively short time. The current market requires a new breed of radar company with faster innovation cycles,” according to Tanja Claasen, Robin CTO.
Company Culture
Last year, more than three thousand people applied for a job at Robin Radar, and the company has been certified as a GreatPlaceToWork® for six years in a row now. “Culture eats strategy for breakfast.” Siete says; “It is a true honour to lead over 150 talented ‘Robins’ in this energetic culture. They make the difference and that is also what Parcom understands. It was crucial to us to find a partner that shares those values, supporting our ambition as well as our autonomy.”
More information: www.robinradar.com
About Parcom
Parcom, founded in 1982, is a Dutch investment company that helps entrepreneurs and management teams achieve their ambitions and supports them in phases of sustainable growth or transformation. Parcom combines thorough and sound analysis with pragmatic and creative solutions. Parcom believes that people make the difference and works 'hands-by' alongside the management teams of its partner companies.
More information: www.parcom.com
About SHIFT Invest
SHIFT Invest is a Dutch environmental impact fund active in Mobility, Energy, Industry and Food&Agri, Robin Radar received investment from its first fund, the Mainport Innovation Fund, backed by Schiphol, KLM, TU Delft, Rabobank and RVO. Other notable investments include Vandebron, Viriciti, Meatless, Protix, SupplyStack, ChainCraft and Whiffle. SHIFT Invest is currently raising its 4th fund.
More information: www.shiftinvest.com
About INKEF
Inkef is a leading venture capital firm based in Amsterdam with a proven history in backing promising early-stage companies in Europe. Inkef takes pride in being a patient, long-term investor with the ability to support companies through several funding rounds all the way up to IPO. From the early stages of being a technology or life science venture, Inkef supports entrepreneurs building their ideas into successful international businesses. Notable investments include, GitLab, Remote, ChannelEngine, Silverflow, iOnctura and Castor among others.
More information: www.inkef.com