{"id":19786,"date":"2019-06-29T03:45:33","date_gmt":"2019-06-29T07:45:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mdpair.com\/james-murdoch-bets-on-drones-after-leaving-the-family-business\/"},"modified":"2019-06-29T03:45:33","modified_gmt":"2019-06-29T07:45:33","slug":"james-murdoch-bets-on-drones-after-leaving-the-family-business","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mdpair.com\/?p=19786","title":{"rendered":"James Murdoch bets on drones after leaving the family business"},"content":{"rendered":"

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James Murdoch will have a new tech venture to discuss when he joins the other billionaires milling about at the annual Allen & Co. retreat in Idaho next month.<\/p>\n

The younger son of media magnate Rupert Murdoch, who parted ways with the family business after it struck a $US71 billion ($56 billion) deal to sell a swath of assets to Walt Disney this year, has backed the seed round of a Norwegian drone technology company.<\/p>\n

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James Murdoch is backing new drone technology.Credit: <\/cite><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

UBIQ Aerospace, which refers to itself as a "deep tech startup," announced that it has raised seed financing from Murdoch's Lupa Systems and Norwegian tech accelerator NTNU Accel. The business hopes to introduce new de-icing systems — called D-ICE — that will "transform" unmanned aircraft operations in cold climates.<\/p>\n

The company's first product is being targeted as much for commercial use as military use, UBIQ Aerospace Chief Executive Officer Kim Lynge Sorensen said in an interview.<\/p>\n

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The company expects it may also help unmanned aircraft used for package deliveries and flying taxis, he added.<\/p>\n

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Terms of the investment weren't disclosed.<\/p>\n

"As an investment firm focused on the problems of the future, we're excited to work with UBIQ," Ben FitzGerald, a partner at Lupa Systems, said in a statement.<\/p>\n

Before joining Lupa, FitzGerald was executive director for strategy, data and design in the Pentagon's Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment.<\/p>\n

Sun Valley<\/h3>\n

Murdoch is expected to be among the attendees at July's annual retreat in Sun Valley, Idaho, where tech leaders like Mark Zuckerberg and finance-world leaders like Warren Buffett rub shoulders and cogitate over the latest global trends. This is the third investment from the 46-year-old's new fund, which manages the money he acquired through the family's stake in 21st Century Fox.<\/p>\n

Trondheim, Norway-based UBIQ plans to introduce its D-ICE product to the unmanned-aviation market early next year. Lupa, which has an office in New York and a presence in Mumbai, made its first investment of $US5 million in comics publisher Artists, Writers and Artisans, the Wall Street Journal reported in April. It also invested in the venture capital firm Human Ventures, according to the Information.<\/p>\n

Bloomberg<\/strong><\/p>\n