KUALA LUMPUR (March 8): Aerodyne Group, a local drone specialist which recently received millions from a corporate venture capital fund established by Axiata Group Bhd, has bought a 60% controlling stake in wind turbine blade inspection company AtSite for €2.2 million (about RM10.6 million).

Aerodyne said in a statement today it expects the acquisition of the Denmark-based company to gain it an additional €20 million (RM96.4 million) in revenue over the next three years.

Aerodyne has been in the news recently after the Axiata Digital Innovation Fund, Malaysia's largest digital venture capital fund set up by Axiata Group, Malaysia Venture Capital Management Bhd and Johor Corp announced it had made its largest single investment to date in Aerodyne — a sum in the double-digit millions.

"This acquisition is our ticket to the European and global wind turbine inspection market. Through our stake in AtSite, Aerodyne can tap into the growing wind energy market as more countries explore renewable energy," said Aerodyne CEO and founder Kamarul A Muhamed.

"AtSite is one of Europe's leading wind turbine generation blade expert. Aerodyne specialises in drone, automation and artificial intelligence. This is a marriage which will bring about multiple benefits to both parties.

"Our stake in AtSite is going to help Aerodyne deliver better value to wind farm owners through improved drone inspection automation and precision detection assisted by artificial intelligence," Kamarul added.

Aerodyne currently operates in 10 countries worldwide — Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei, Australia, UK, US, UAE, Saudi Arabia and Denmark. The company has been ranked 7th in a worldwide survey done by Drone Industry Insights, a market research and analytics company based in Germany, Aerodyne's statement read.