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Lucid Bots partners with Vets to Drones to open commercial drone careers for transitioning veterans. World · JUL 7, 2026 PR Newswire Charlotte-based drone manufacturer joins forces with veteran-led nonprofit to connect certified pilots with real business opportunities in the exterior cle... Charlotte-based drone manufacturer joins forces with veteran-led nonprofit to connect certified pilots with real business opportunities in the exterior cleaning industry CHARLOTTE, N.C., July 7, 2026 /PRNewswire/ - Lucid Bots, the Charlotte-based manufacturer of the Sherpa Drone, today announced its official sponsorship of Vets to Drones (V2D), a veteran-led nonprofit dedicated to transitioning military service members into careers in the commercial drone industry. The partnership connects V2D members with a proven path to business ownership using the Sherpa Drone platform, one of the most accessible entry points into the drone cleaning market. Founded in 2023 and led by Marine Corps Veteran Chris Lewis, Vets to Drones provides free FAA Part 107 certification training, advanced training in mapping, public safety, infrastructure inspection, agriculture, NIST-standard flight education, mentorship, and job placement support to thousands of veterans nationwide. Members can enter the workforce with their FAA Part 107 license if they choose, and are ready for deployment across a wide range of industries. For veterans entering the exterior services sector, the Sherpa Drone eliminates the need for ladders, lifts, ropes, and scaffolding on exterior window cleaning, facade washing, solar panel maintenance, and building wash-down work. A V2D member with a Part 107 certification and a Sherpa Drone has the foundation to launch a profitable business quickly. Lucid Bots operators across the country have collectively earned more than $75 million in revenue, with many operators targeting $100,000 or more within their first 120 days of operation. "Veterans bring discipline, precision, and mission focus. Exactly what it takes to run a successful drone cleaning operation. Vets to Drones is building an exceptional pipeline of certified pilots, and we're proud to be part of the infrastructure that helps them build real businesses when they come home." - Matt Lowen, Sr. Alliance Manager, Lucid Bots "The transition out of service is hard, and the hardest part is often just finding direction. Partnering with Lucid Bots gives our members a concrete path forward into an in-demand field where the drive they built in uniform carries straight into commercial work." - Chris Lewis, Founder & CEO, Vets to Drones The sponsorship reflects Lucid Bots' broader commitment to expanding access to the commercial drone cleaning industry. The Sherpa Drone is manufactured in Charlotte, NC, and has an NDAA-compliant version, making it a trusted tool for operators across more than 40 states and on three continents. The drone has logged over 6,500 jobs since its introduction and more than 22 million square feet of cleaned surface area in one year. Veterans interested in the V2D program can learn more and join at vetstodrones.org. Membership and training is free to all veterans. Operators and businesses interested in the Sherpa Drone platform can visit lucidbots.com. About Lucid Bots Lucid Bots is a Charlotte, NC-based drone hardware company and the manufacturer of the Sherpa Drone, a purpose-built platform for exterior cleaning applications including window washing, facade treatment, solar panel maintenance, and protective coatings. Backed by Y Combinator and $20+ million in funding, Lucid Bots serves a network of 400+ operators across more than 40 states and three continents. The Sherpa Drone is made in the USA and has an NDAA-compliant model. Learn more at lucidbots.com. About Vets to Drones Vets to Drones (V2D) is a veteran-led nonprofit founded in 2023 by Marine Corps Veteran Chris Lewis. V2D provides free FAA Part 107 certification training, NIST-standard drone education, mentorship, and job placement support to transitioning veterans across the United States. Since its founding, V2D has served thousands of veterans, equipping them with the skills and credentials needed to launch careers in the commercial drone industry. Learn more at vetstodrones.org. SOURCE Lucid Bots Published by News Desk · WeeklyReviewer The WeeklyReviewer news desk monitors breaking developments around the clock - sourcing, verifying, and publishing real-time industry news across business, technology, politics, science, sports, and world affairs. Every story that comes through the Live Wire is reviewed for accuracy before publication, keeping our readers ahead of the curve without the noise.

From dorm room to drone labs: Davidson College and Lucid Bots launch Innovation Fellows Program. April 28, 2026 A new partnership will give Davidson College graduates an opportunity to expand the frontiers of robotics and artificial intelligence. The Jay Hurt Hub for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Davidson College and Lucid Bots Inc. will partner to establish structured, paid pathways connecting Davidson students with Lucid Bots' robotics testing and development. Lucid Bots is the leading platform for autonomous drones and robots for exterior cleaning in the United States. It was founded in 2018 while founder and CEO Andrew Ashur was a student at Davidson College. Ashur and his co-founders wrote the business plan and built prototypes at the Hurt Hub before graduating in 2019. The parties will create the Davidson Innovation Fellows Program, a 12-month fellowship for recent Davidson graduates that may be extended for up to five years. Lucid Bots expects to host up to four Davidson Innovation Fellows annually, providing immersive, applied experience across robotics testing, engineering, software development, data analysis, operations and customer operations. "Establishing the Davidson Innovation Fellows is a true 'full-circle' moment as we work with Andrew and his team who were the first company to launch at the Hurt Hub," said Liz Brigham, W. Spencer Mitchem '59 Executive Director at the Hurt Hub at Davidson College. "The program creates a clear pathway for Davidson graduates to apply rigorous liberal arts thinking to real-world robotics challenges, while strengthening workforce development connections in North Carolina." The agreement also establishes a priority pipeline for Davidson College internships and high-impact experiential learning opportunities at Lucid Bots, expanding options for students seeking hands-on work in frontier technology and related fields. In partnership with the Matthews Center for Career Development, the opportunities are currently live on Handshake for students to apply. The initiative also outlines new opportunities for faculty research and engagement, including access to Lucid Bots' private partners and research collaborators in areas of mutual interest. Lucid Bots started as an idea on a dorm room couch at Davidson College. Davidson wouldn't exist without the support of the college, the Hurt Hub, and the local community. This partnership gives Davidson graduates direct exposure to a massive and growing market in robotics, and it gives Davidson a pipeline to students whose imagination, ethics and critical thinking skills position them to shape cutting-edge fields like robotics and artificial intelligence. That's a win for everyone. Andrew Ashur '19 Founder & CEO, Lucid Bots As part of the collaboration supporting Lucid Bots, students may gain access to the company's labs and testing spaces for student-led ventures and experiments, enabling practical work alongside industry-grade tools, environments and development cycles. The partnership is intended to deepen experiential learning while strengthening connections between classroom learning, applied research and emerging technology work. Related topics.

Lucid Bots secures $20 million to expand autonomous exterior cleaning drone technology. Lucid Bots secures $20 million in Series B funding. Lucid Bots has successfully raised $20 million in a Series B funding round aimed at expanding its autonomous exterior cleaning platform and enhancing U.S.-based manufacturing capabilities. The funding round was co-led by Cubit Capital and Idea Fund Partners, with additional contributions from Taylor Rhodes, WaterStone Impact Fund, and Front Porch Ventures. This latest investment brings the total funding for the company to $34 million. The company intends to utilize the funds to grow its commercial operations, expand its manufacturing facility in Charlotte, North Carolina, and accelerate its Robotics-as-a-Service (RaaS) offering, known as Lucid Refresh. Andrew Ashur, Founder and CEO of Lucid Bots, stated, "We're on an ambitious journey to give software a body to do physically productive work that the world needs and become the USA's leading supplier of modular drones and robots. This capital allows us to meet the massive market demand we're seeing today while expanding our product offerings and accelerating our manufacturing and autonomy goals. The next 18 months will be transformative for our product roadmap and the industry at large." Mar 25, 2026 Subscription model enhances access to robotics. Lucid Bots has introduced the Lucid Refresh platform, which offers a subscription-based approach to robotic cleaning. This model allows operators to access drones, ground robots, software, and support without the need for significant upfront capital investment. The platform features the Sherpa cleaning drone, the Lavo AI pressure washing robot, fleet management software, training, and job intelligence tools. This approach addresses a common challenge in the cleaning industry, where many companies struggle to adopt robotics independently. Vic Pellicano, President and Chief Platform Officer of Lucid Bots, explained, "Our customers are running cleaning businesses. They don't need a robot - they need a way to take on jobs they couldn't do before, execute them better than the competition, and do it without betting their company on a capital purchase. That's what we built. It's less like buying equipment and more like adding a robotics division to your business that you can deploy on any job, any time." Mar 24, 2026 Lucid Bots reports that its operator network has generated over $75 million in exterior cleaning revenue using its systems. The company claims that its Sherpa drone can reduce job completion time by two to five times, with operators experiencing payback periods of less than two months. Currently, nearly 1,000 robots are deployed across the United States, and the company notes that 93% of new business comes from inbound interest. Its customer base includes independent operators as well as large organizations such as Disney and Sunbelt Rentals. Ryan Godwin, Owner of Godwin Facility Services, remarked, "The Lucid Sherpa drone has elevated our business to new heights, opening doors and differentiating ourselves from the competition. We wouldn't be where we are today without adding the Lucid Sherpa to our business." Data and AI drive performance. Lucid Bots emphasizes that its competitive edge lies in operational data rather than hardware alone. The company's systems have logged hundreds of thousands of hours of real-world cleaning work, which helps train the AI systems used in its robots. This leads to improved performance over time, resulting in more precise cleaning and better adaptation to varying conditions. Recently, Lucid Bots launched Lavo AI, an autonomous pressure washing robot designed for unattended operation, which includes a mobile app and a cloud-based data system. The company is also part of the NVIDIA Inception Program and is developing its AI capabilities in collaboration with NVIDIA. Domestic manufacturing and industry context. Lucid Bots manufactures its systems at a 25,000-square-foot facility in Charlotte, North Carolina. This domestic manufacturing footprint may help ensure compliance with federal requirements for U.S.-built robotic systems and aligns with increasing demand from government and enterprise customers. Investors have highlighted both market demand and labor challenges as significant drivers of growth. Philip Carson, Partner at Cubit Capital, stated, "At Cubit Capital, we invest in companies with courageous leadership confronting meaningful societal challenges, and Lucid Bots represents exactly that. The labor crisis in industrial work is real, and Lucid has achieved genuine innovation with technology that empowers workers and creates safer workplaces." Lister Delgado, Managing Partner at Idea Fund Partners, added, "What excites us about Lucid Bots is that this isn't a single-product company. It's a platform defining a new category. By building AI systems trained on more real-world cleaning data than anyone else in the industry, they're creating a compounding advantage that will be difficult to replicate." Expanding role of robotics in industrial work. The recent funding reflects a broader trend in the increasing use of drones and robotics for industrial tasks, with exterior cleaning serving as a prime example where automation can enhance safety and efficiency. By integrating drones, ground robots, and software into a cohesive platform, Lucid Bots aims to lower barriers to adoption. The subscription model further mitigates risks for operators entering the robotics space. As demand for automated solutions continues to rise, platforms that combine hardware, data, and services are expected to play a more significant role in the future of work.