ZenaTech, Inc. (Nasdaq: ZENA) has completed its 25th acquisition through the purchase of Velocity Group, a geomatics firm based in Grande Prairie, Alberta. This strategic move marks ZenaTech’s first entry into drone-based geomatics specifically targeting environmental and regulatory compliance within the oil and gas sector. By integrating Velocity Group’s regional expertise across Alberta, British Columbia, and Saskatchewan, ZenaTech aims to deploy its Drone as a Service (DaaS) platform into one of North America's most significant energy markets. This acquisition fulfills a corporate milestone previously projected for mid-2026, signaling an accelerated expansion of the company's specialized drone-based surveying and infrastructure monitoring capabilities.
ZenaTech Accelerates DaaS Growth via Velocity Group
The acquisition of Velocity Group allows ZenaTech to penetrate the Western Canadian energy market by leveraging an established customer base of large and multinational oil and gas producers. Velocity Group specializes in geospatial land surveying, mapping, and pre-site assessment support for commercial infrastructure and energy development projects. Currently, approximately 80% of Velocity Group's projects utilize drone-based workflows for surveying and geospatial data collection. ZenaTech intends to enhance these existing services by integrating its proprietary AI-powered drone technology to improve surveying, mapping, and infrastructure monitoring applications.
CEO Shaun Passley, Ph.D., noted that the acquisition demonstrates the achievement of a key goal set during the company's 2024 public offering: reaching 25 acquisitions to support the Drone as a Service business. ZenaTech’s strategy involves acquiring profitable service companies that currently utilize low-tech processes, which the company then upgrades through next-generation drone integration. This approach is designed to provide clients with on-demand or subscription-based access to drone services, removing the capital costs and operational burdens associated with drone ownership. By focusing on companies anchored by existing revenue and customers, ZenaTech is building a global, multi-service DaaS network capable of delivering increased speed, precision, and data accuracy for mission-critical industrial applications.
Expanding Drone Services in Energy Infrastructure
The move into the oil and gas sector aligns with significant market tailwinds for autonomous inspection and compliance technologies. According to market analysts, the global oil and gas drone inspection services market is valued at approximately USD 2.3 billion. This sector is projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of roughly 28.5%, driven by the increasing necessity for efficient surveying and regulatory assessment of pipelines and extraction sites. Velocity Group’s established presence in Alberta, British Columbia, and Saskatchewan provides ZenaTech with the regional footprint required to capture this growing demand for environmental and regulatory compliance services.
ZenaTech’s broader technology portfolio, including its ZenaDrone subsidiary, offers specialized hardware such as the IQ Quad for land surveys and the IQ Square for commercial inspections. By applying these autonomous solutions to the geomatics workflows already utilized by Velocity Group, ZenaTech positions itself to address the specific needs of upstream and infrastructure development projects. The integration of AI, predictive modeling, and machine learning into these drone workflows is intended to optimize the monitoring of energy infrastructure. This expansion into the Canadian energy corridor represents a critical step in ZenaTech's effort to establish core expertise in a fast-growing global industry characterized by high demand for precise geospatial data.
Key Takeaways
- ZenaTech has completed its 25th acquisition with the purchase of Alberta-based Velocity Group.
- The global oil and gas drone inspection services market is valued at approximately USD 2.3 billion with a projected CAGR of 28.5%.
- Velocity Group currently utilizes drone-based workflows for approximately 80% of its surveying and geospatial data collection projects.
EnergyInsyte's Take
In our view, ZenaTech’s rapid acquisition pace—reaching its 25-deal milestone well ahead of its mid-2026 target—signals an aggressive push to dominate the Drone as a Service (DaaS) landscape. By targeting Velocity Group, ZenaTech is not merely buying revenue; it is buying immediate access to the complex regulatory and environmental compliance workflows essential to the Western Canadian oil and gas industry. This is a calculated move to bridge the gap between traditional geomatics and high-tech AI automation. This signals that the industry is moving toward a model where energy operators prefer subscription-based, high-precision data over the heavy capital expenditure of maintaining internal drone fleets. If ZenaTech can successfully transition Velocity Group’s existing clients from low-tech processes to its AI-integrated platform, it will create a highly scalable blueprint for expanding into other global energy markets.
Source: EIN Presswire
