Autonomy Runway

How it works

What it is, what it does, and how to use it

Autonomy Runway connects drone and robotics companies with the buyers, U.S. manufacturers, lenders, investors, resellers, and service partners they need to grow. Everyone connects through the platform, without publicly sharing email addresses or phone numbers. This page explains it in three parts.

What it isA platform where drone and robotics companies and the people they need find each other.

The platform · A full profile · Who is on it

What it doesConnects makers with buyers, factories, capital, sellers and help, and how each connection works.

Who meets whom · Buyers and makers · Partner board · Introductions and messages · Government-ready

How to use itWhere to start for each kind of account, then accounts, verification, and claiming or removing a page.

Getting started · Three levels · Creating an account · Verification · Claiming a page · Removing a page · Privacy

Part 1 of 3What it is

The platform

Connecting drone and robotics companies with the buyers, capital, and production partners they need to grow.

Autonomy Runway is where drone and robotics companies and the people they need find each other and do business: government and commercial buyers, U.S. factories, lenders and investors, resellers, service partners, and the agencies and programs that help.

A profile for every companyEach drone and robotics company has a page: what it makes, where it builds, what it is looking for, and how ready it is to sell to government. Companies create their page, or claim the one the platform built for them from public information.
Everyone around themFactories, resellers, lenders, investors and service partners have profiles too, so a company finds production, a way to market, money and help in one place.
Buyers at the tableFederal and state agencies, defense primes and companies come to find makers and to post what they need. Their accounts stay private.
Tools that connect themA request board for buyers, a partner board for production and business partners, introductions and private messages. Part 2 shows how each one works.
The U.S. and allied countriesCompanies from abroad come to meet U.S. production partners, capital and buyers. Every profile shows its country and where its products are built.
Independent and freeFounder-run and built in Sacramento, California. Accounts and profiles are free.

A full profile, up close

What a finished company page holds

This is what a company's page looks like once it fills it in. Without an account, visitors see only the top: the name, the one line, the place and the first paragraph. Everything else opens with a free account, and the buttons open for verified organizations.

ExampleA full profile, as a signed-in visitor sees it. Sierra Lift is not a real company.
SL
1

Sierra Lift Aerospace

United States United States · Rancho Cordova, CA · Airframes · Verified

Heavy-lift multirotor airframes for utility and wildfire crews.

2Add to favoritesRequest an introductionMessage

3About

Sierra Lift designs and assembles carbon-fiber multirotor airframes rated for 25 to 60 lb payloads. The frames are built for line inspection, fire mapping and rural delivery, with field-swappable arms and a sealed electronics bay.

All structural parts are cut and laid up in Rancho Cordova. The company sells complete airframes and also builds custom frames for integrators.

4Images

5Video

The company's YouTube or Vimeo video plays here.

6Pitch deck

Open deck (PDF)

7Looking for

  • Customers
  • Financing
  • Suppliers

8Government readiness

7 of 14 steps done

  • SAM.gov registered
  • CAGE code
  • NAICS codes chosen
  • Small business certification (not yet)
  • State certification (not yet)
  • NDAA supply chain documented
  • Blue UAS cleared (not yet)
  • FCC equipment authorization
  • FAA Part 107 / 137
  • ITAR / EAR reviewed (not yet)
  • NIST 800-171 score posted (not yet)
  • SBIR registered (not yet)
  • Capability statement
  • Past performance listed (not yet)

9Partnering

U.S. production
Own U.S. facility
Partner match
Components supplier, U.S. capital
Stage
Low-rate production

10Facts

Founded
2021
Team
14 people
Website
sierralift.example
NDAA-compliantPart 107 operators on staff
1Name and one lineThe cover, the logo, one line on what the company does, its country and place, what it makes, and the Verified mark once the organization is verified.
2ButtonsAdd to favorites, for any account. Request an introduction and Message, for verified organizations.
3AboutWhat the company builds and for whom, in its own words.
4ImagesUp to 12 photos of the product, the shop floor and the team.
5VideoA YouTube or Vimeo link that plays on the page.
6Pitch deckA PDF that opens in the browser, shown on the page or shared only by private link.
7Looking forCustomers, suppliers, financing, investors, partners or talent. This is how the right people filter to the company.
8Government readinessThe steps done toward selling to government, from SAM.gov to Blue UAS. With 6 or more, the company counts as government-ready.
9PartneringWhere it builds for the U.S. market, the partners it wants, and how far along it is.
10Facts and certificationsWhen it was founded, its team, its website, and certifications such as NDAA compliance or AS9100.

Who is on it

Eight kinds of account, one for each side of the table

Drone company

“We make drones, parts or software, or fly drones for customers”

Meets
Buyers, U.S. factories, lenders and investors, resellers and service partners.
Profile
Public, in Companies

Manufacturer

“We manufacture for others (factory, machining, composites, electronics)”

Meets
Drone companies, in the U.S. and abroad, that need something built here, and buyers.
Profile
Public, in Manufacturers

Reseller

“We sell drones and parts (store, dealer, online)”

Meets
Makers looking for a distributor, and buyers.
Profile
Public, in Resellers, always labeled Reseller

Lender or investor

“We finance or invest”

Meets
Drone companies looking for loans, grants or investment.
Profile
Public, on the Financing page

Service partner

“We provide services to drone companies (legal, compliance, insurance, testing, engineering, marketing)”

Meets
Drone companies that need legal, compliance, insurance, testing, engineering or integration work.
Profile
Public, in Partners

Buyer

“We buy or source drones and related technology”

Meets
The companies that build what you need, without showing your name.
Profile
None. Your organization stays private

Government or support body

“We are a government or support organization that helps companies”

Meets
Companies that can use your programs, events and resources.
Profile
Optional, on the Government page

Individual

“I am just looking around”

Meets
Every company and organization on the platform, for research, reporting, a job search or scouting.
Profile
None
Part 2 of 3What it does

Who meets whom

The connections the platform makes
Buyers and makersAgencies, defense primes and companies find the makers of what they need, then post a request or ask for an introduction.
Makers and factoriesA company with a design finds a U.S. factory to build it, and a U.S. factory finds proven technology to build. This is how companies from allied countries enter the U.S. market.
Companies and capitalBanks, CDCs, CDFIs, investors and grant programs that finance drone companies have profiles, and companies ask them for an introduction.
Makers and sellersResellers and distributors find makers to carry, and makers find a way to market.
Companies and servicesLaw, export compliance, insurance, testing, engineering and integration firms that serve drone companies.
Support and eventsSmall business offices, universities and associations share events and resources, and companies say which events they will attend.
Autonomy Runwayrequests,introductionspartner boardpartner boardintroductionsintroductionsevents, resourcesBuyersagencies, primesManufacturersU.S. factoriesResellersand distributorsDrone and roboticscompaniesLendersand investorsService partnerslaw, testingGovernmentand support bodies
Every connection happens through the platform: requests, the partner board, introductions, and messages. Email addresses and phone numbers are never displayed publicly.

Buyers and makers

Three ways a buyer reaches the companies that build what it needs
1. Search and filterBy capability, state, country, U.S. production and readiness steps. Government teams filter to the companies they are allowed to buy from.
2. Post a requestDescribe the need once, and the companies that make it answer, as the drawing shows.
3. Ask usTell us what you need on the Buyers page and we reply with introductions to the companies that fit.

A request says what, how many, where and by when, and lists what every answer must include: a price range, lead time, compliance status and so on. The buyer can keep answers to U.S., small or SAM-registered companies, let factories and resellers answer too, and ask for an NDA before the sensitive details. Federal and state requests carry a Market research label: the purchase itself goes through the agency's contracting office.

The request board opens to companies once the first requests are in. Verified buyers can post now.

BuyerCompaniesPosts a requestwhat, where, by whenThe site owner checks itthen it goes up without the buyer's nameMatching companiesget an emailSend an answeron the buyer's formCompares answersside by sideAsks questionsin a private threadRepliessees contact if sharedThe purchase happens off the sitethrough the buyer's own process
The need is public; the buyer is not. Companies answer on the buyer's own form, and contact details change hands only when the buyer shares them.

Partner board

Foreign technology, American production, and every other partnership

A verified drone company or manufacturer posts what it is looking for, and the platform shows the post to the organizations on the other side of that need. A manufacturer in Ukraine, Poland or Taiwan looking for a U.S. production partner meets U.S. companies with capacity and a facility; a U.S. company looking for capital meets lenders and investors.

Looking for: U.S. production partnerShown to: U.S. companies looking for foreign technology, and U.S. factories open to foreign partners.
Looking for: Foreign technology to buildShown to: Companies abroad looking for a U.S. production partner.
Looking for: Components supplierShown to: Component and material makers, and manufacturers.
Looking for: U.S. capitalShown to: Lenders and investors.
Looking for: DistributorShown to: Resellers.
Looking for: IntegratorShown to: Service partners that integrate or engineer.
Looking for: Government buyer or commercial buyerShown to: Verified buyers. The poster sees only how many, because buyers stay private.

Interest goes through the platform: the matched side presses Express interest, the company that posted sees its page and accepts or declines, and only then do both see each other's name and email, with a private thread to talk in.

Each account can express interest 5 times a month and keep 1 post open at a time. Posts and messages must not contain export-controlled technical data.

Company that postsCompany that matchesPosts what it needse.g. a U.S. factoryThe site finds the matchesby what each side is looking forSees the postunder Matches for youExpresses interestno names or emails yetSees its pageaccepts or declinesAccepted: names and emailsshown to both, and a thread opens
Nobody's name or email changes hands until the company that posted says yes.

Introductions and messages

How one organization reaches another
Request an introductionOn any company page. Your name and organization come from your account, and you add a short note. A company that runs its page gets it by email and replies to you directly. For a page nobody has claimed yet, the site owner makes the introduction.
MessageVerified organizations can message a verified company on the platform. The other side gets an email that a message is waiting, without its text, and replies on the platform.
Contact detailsNo page shows an email address or a phone number. People share them in a thread when they choose to.
Who can reach outIntroductions and messages are for verified organizations, so every company knows the request comes from a real one.
Request an introductionClaimed pagethe company runs itUnclaimed pagenobody runs it yetEmail to the companyyour name and your noteSite owner gets itmakes the introductionThey reply to youdirectly, by emailYou are introducedby email
Your name and organization come from your account, so the company always knows who is asking.

Government-ready

What a buyer can see before making the first call
Where it is builtEvery profile shows the company's country and its U.S. production: none, planned, built by a U.S. partner, or its own U.S. facility. Government teams see at a glance what they may buy.
Readiness checklistDrone companies and manufacturers mark the steps they have done, from SAM.gov registration and a CAGE code to an NDAA supply chain, Blue UAS clearance and NIST 800-171. With 6 or more, a company counts as government-ready, and buyers can filter to those.
Looking forEach company says what it wants: customers, suppliers, financing, investors, partners or talent, so the right people find it.
Guides and eventsThe government path, the financing guide, rule updates and resources are open to everyone. Events show which companies will attend, so people know whom they can meet there.
Part 3 of 3How to use it

Getting started

Where to begin, for each kind of account

Drone company or manufacturer

1
Look for your company. If it already has a page, claim it; if not, create a free account and add it.
2
Ask for verification with your work email.
3
Fill in your page: what you build, images, a video and your deck, where you build, what you are looking for, and the readiness steps you have done.
4
Post what you need on the partner board, and answer the posts the platform matches to you.
5
When the request board opens, buyer requests in your category arrive by email.

Buyer

1
Create a free buyer account. Your organization stays private.
2
Ask for verification with your work email.
3
Browse by capability, and filter to U.S. production and government-ready companies.
4
Post a request with the checklist every answer must include, then compare the answers side by side.
5
Or ask for an introduction on any company page, or tell us what you need on the Buyers page.

Lender, investor, reseller or service partner

1
Create a free account and choose what describes you.
2
Ask for verification. Your profile goes live in its own section.
3
Say what you offer: loans and deal sizes, the brands you carry, or your services and the states you serve.
4
Drone companies find you there and through the partner board, and reach you by introduction or message.

Government or support body

1
Create a free account and choose government or support organization.
2
Decide whether you want a public page on the Government page.
3
Once verified, send your events and resources. The site owner approves each one.

Just looking

1
Create a free account. Every list and every full page opens.
2
Keep favorites and saved searches.
3
Start representing an organization later? Add it to your account.

Three levels

What each one opens
No accountThe guides, updates and upcoming events, 12 featured cards on each list, and the top of every company page.
Free accountEvery list in full, with search, filters and saved searches; every company page in full; and favorites. Confirming your email address is all it takes.
Verified organizationEverything above, plus the ways to reach people: introductions, messages and the partner board. A person checks that the organization is real and that you work for it.
No account12 cards a listPage previewsFree accountEvery listFull pagesSearch, filtersFavoritesVerifiedorganizationIntroductionsMessagesPartner board
Each level keeps everything the one before it opens, and adds more.

Opening a card

What you see before you sign up

Each list shows 12 featured cards to everyone. Open a card and you see the top of the page: the name and one line, where the organization is and what kind it is, the first paragraph of its About, and its website.

The rest of the page opens with a free account: the full About, capabilities, certifications, images, the video and the deck. The buttons that reach the company, Request an introduction and Message, open once your own organization is verified.

Why the split: search engines can find every company, while the full lists, the details and every way to contact someone stay with people who signed up.

12 on each listopenEveryone seesName, one lineWhere, what kindFirst paragraphWebsite linkWith a free accountFull aboutCapabilitiesImages, video, deckCreate a free accountor sign in
Open a card and the top of the page is there for everyone. The rest of the page opens with a free account.

Creating an account

Step by step
1. Choose what describes youOne of the eight kinds in Part 1. Sign up with an email and password, a sign-in link sent by email, or Google.
2. Tell us who you areYour name, and a title and phone number if you like (your phone is never shown). For an organization: its name, website and location, and a few details for its kind. If it already has a page here, we show it so you can claim it instead of making a second one.
3. Confirm your email addressOpen the link we send. You now have a free account: every list, full pages and favorites.
4. Ask for verificationOrganizations only. Confirm your work email and tick that you work for the organization. You can use the platform while you wait.
5. A person decidesUsually within one business day. Approved: a public page goes live with the Verified mark, and introductions and messages open. Not approved: you keep your free account and can ask again with a different work email or a short explanation.
Account createdemail not confirmed yetopens the email linkRegisteredlists, pages, favoritesIndividualsstop hereasks for verificationPendingthe site owner checksNot approvedcan ask againapprovedVerifiedintroductions, messagespublic pages go livewith the Verified mark
Confirming your email address makes a free account. Only an organization that asks for verification, and is approved by a person, becomes Verified.

Verification

How we know an organization is real

Verification answers two questions: is the organization real, and do you work for it.

  • An automatic check compares your work email with the organization's website: name@yourcompany.com matches yourcompany.com. Addresses ending in .gov or .mil are marked as government.
  • Free addresses (Gmail, Yahoo, Outlook and the like) never pass the check, whatever comes before the @.
  • The check never verifies anyone by itself. A person reads every request, with the result beside it, and approves or declines it.
  • A verified organization that changes its website or its owner goes back to review.
Work emailname@yourcompany.comWebsite on the pageyourcompany.comMatchFree emailname@yahoo.comWebsite on the pageyourcompany.comNo matchA person reviews itwith the check's result beside itapprovesVerified
The check only compares the two domains. It never verifies anyone by itself: a person approves every organization.

Claiming a page

When your company is already on the platform

Pages marked Unclaimed page were built by Autonomy Runway from the company's public materials. If one is yours, claim it: it keeps its address and you take it over.

1. Press Claim this pageIt is on the page itself. You can claim with or without an account.
2. Use your work emailAn address at the company's own domain gets a sign-in link. Open it and the page is yours, already verified.
3. Any other addressThe site owner checks the request by hand and may write to you before approving it.
4. Make it yoursEdit what you build, add images, a video link and your deck, and say what you are looking for.
Claim this pageType your work emailCompany's own domainname@yourcompany.comA sign-in linkby email, one useOpen the linkand you are signed inThe page is yoursand verifiedAny other addressname@yahoo.comSent for reviewa person checks itChecked by handwe may write to youThe page is yoursif you speak for it
The fast path needs the company's own mailbox. Everything else waits for a person.

Removing a page

Only the company can take its page down

Every unclaimed page has a Request removal link under its claim box. Sending the form takes nothing down by itself, so nobody can remove your page by typing your name into it.

1. Request removalPress it on the page, and type your name and email.
2. Write from the company's domainIf the website on the page is yourcompany.com, use an address like name@yourcompany.com. Free addresses such as Gmail never count.
3. Confirm from your inboxWe email that address a link. It works once, for 48 hours, and opens a page with a Confirm removal button. The page comes down when you press it.
4. Any other addressNothing comes down on its own. A person checks the request, may write back to make sure you speak for the company, and takes the page down within one business day.

Why this works: anyone can type an address into a form, but only someone who can read the company's own mailbox can open the link.

Already claimed your page? Sign in, open Settings on your dashboard and delete your account with “Also remove our page” ticked, or write to team@autonomyrunway.com from the company's address. The page comes down within one business day.

Request removalType your emailCompany's own domainname@yourcompany.comA link by emailone use, 48 hoursPress Confirmon the page it opensPage comes downright awayAny other addressname@yahoo.comNothing changes yeta person checks itChecked by handwe may write to youPage comes downwithin a business day
Only someone who can read the company's own mailbox can take the page down directly. Every other request waits for a person.

What stays private

Contact detailsPhone numbers and personal email addresses never appear on any page. People reach each other through introductions and messages.
BuyersBuyer organizations are never listed. A request shows what is needed, and names the buyer only if the buyer chooses.
Your work emailOnly the site owner sees the address you verify with.
LeavingDelete your account from Settings at any time. Your organization's page stays as an unclaimed page unless you ask for it to come down.
CostCreating an account and a profile is free.

Meet the people you need.

A free account opens every company and every full profile. Verification, when your organization needs it, usually takes one business day.

Create a free account