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Danny Ellis
CEO and Founder at SkySpecs, Inc.
Danny Ellis, Co-Founder and CEO of SkySpecs
Danny Ellis is the Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of SkySpecs, a company that simplifies renewable energy asset management using autonomous drone technology.12 He has a Bachelor's and Master's degree in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Michigan.13
Key Facts about Danny Ellis:
- Co-founded SkySpecs in 2012 with the goal of using autonomous drones for commercial applications2
- Led SkySpecs to become a global company that has inspected over 600,000 wind turbine blades in 31 countries2
- Grew the company from a 3-person team to over 260 full-time employees and 100+ contractors with offices worldwide2
- Raised over $120 million in funding for SkySpecs through private equity, venture capital, competitions, grants, and awards1
- Recognized as a Forbes "30 under 30" in 2016, Crain's Detroit "40 under 40" in 2021, EY Entrepreneur of the Year in 2023, and Michigan Entrepreneur of the Year in 202312
- Served as a Graduate Student Instructor at the University of Michigan, teaching aerospace engineering to freshmen1
Danny Ellis' leadership has been instrumental in SkySpecs' rapid growth and success in the renewable energy technology sector. His achievements have been widely recognized through prestigious awards and accolades.12
Highlights
Emily Heintz, Lauren Sheridan, and I got to hang out with Gretchen Whitmer yesterday at Camp Grayling JMTC!
I had the privilege of talking about SkySpecs and the tremendous growth of the #windindustry with Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer. Michigan has a long history of amazing engineering talent, skilled trades talent, and strong manufacturing roots which was a great launching point for SkySpecs over a decade ago. It was exciting to catch her up on our growth, work we are doing on six continents, as well as chat about #cleanenergy, the #windindustry, and #MichiganInnovation more broadly. We are looking forward to Michigan working to solve some of the toughest challenges in the clean energy and electrification transition.
I am so proud of the entire team at SkySpecs! We just closed an $80 million round of financing led by Goldman Sachs Asset Management! The round was followed on by NextEra Energy Resources and our existing investors at Statkraft, Equinor, Evergy, and Huron River Ventures . With this capital, SkySpecs is going to continue to take renewable energy asset management to new heights. We are honored to be working with these amazing partners and welcome Vikas Agrawal, Tanner Mahoney , Ji (Kyi) T. , Rich Katz , Brian Curtis, and Bala Nagarajan to the team. I also want to thank some of the investors that have supported us along this long journey: McRock Capital, UL , Capital Midwest Fund , Endeavor Catalyst, Venture Investors, Amherst , Invest Michigan , and many angels, family, & friends. I cannot wait to see what our team is going to do next to help make renewable energy a long-lasting, most affordable form of electricity to help the planet.
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