Blake is the CEO/Founder of BRINC. He started taking college courses at the age of 14, and then attended Northwestern’s McCormick School of Engineering. Before launching his sUAS start-up, he worked at McLaren Automotive, Tesla Motors, and DJI Inc. He is also a member of the Thiel Fellowship’s class of 2020. Blake has the innate ability to define a problem, imagine a new approach and create a technology-based solution. His engineering skills include mechanical design, firmware development, electrical design, testing, high voltage systems, vacuum systems, composite design, additive manufacturing and CNC machining. BRINC designs, manufactures and sells sUAS systems to public safety departments worldwide. Blake’s willingness to form collaborative partnerships with end customers (including deploying on dozens of SWAT callouts) gave birth to BRINC’s first product, the LEMUR. Using lidar technology, the drone flies indoors with precision and unprecedented agility, and its two-way communication system allows first responders to hear and see through the drone. Blake is currently working on an sUAS mesh system designed to respond to gunshot detections and 911 calls within seconds. When not enveloped in product development, he actively engages in recruiting, strategy development, internal communication, and fundraising. He recently negotiated and closed a $2.2 million Seed round, a $25 million Series A funding round in 2021, and a $55 million Series B funding round in 2022.