The Next Wave Podcast

In this episode, we’re joined by Fatema Hamdani, Co-founder and CEO of Kraus Hamdani Aerospace. Fatema is the first guest to return to the TNW podcast, first appearing on the show in February 2020 after meeting TNW co-host Dean Nelson on Necker Island.

KH Aerospace has made ground-breaking progress since then. Fatema leads an incredible team unlocking the potential of Unmanned Aerial Systems to augment and save lives, applied in everything from disaster relief and anti-poaching operations to military intelligence and reconnaissance. KH Aerospace has built the world’s first fully electric, zero-emissions UAV with the longest airborne endurance in its category. KH Aerospace is breaking world records with UAVs that can travel longer distances, stay in flight longer, and at higher altitudes than any before.

KH Aerospace, a NightDragon company, includes NightDragon Founder Dave DeWalt and Kevin O’Connell, CEO and Founder of Space Economy Rising, LLC serving on the Board.

Fatema and KH Aerospace co-founder Stefan Kraus have been nominated as finalists for an Edison Award, which celebrates the apex of product innovation. Past winners include Steve Jobs, Elon Musk, Ted Turner, and Martha Stewart. A quote from Forbes states that “an aerospace colleague recently told Fatema and Stefan that what they’re doing for unmanned aerial systems is what the Wright Brothers did for flight.” On the podcast, Fatema addresses layering data from sensors and how much of the work done by UAS is being used to create #digitaltwins, among other topics.

The K1000ULE by KH Aerospace is an ultra-long endurance fully electric UAS supporting an array of complex missions utilizing Beyond Line Sight Capabilities. Using edge processing, AI-powered analytics based on geospatial and third-party data, this technology is used for a number of capabilities, including defense, natural disaster, commercial use, and anti-poaching.

KH Aerospace is shaking up the industry by making UAVs at a price point finally in reach of commercial enterprises and NGOs, instead of just governments. Projects with the armed services are showing what’s possible when startups fuse an innovative, entrepreneurial culture with the mission mindset of the military.

As a citizen of the world with a nearly two-decade record of building startups, Fatema is keenly aware of the big challenges facing humanity and business today. She is relentlessly passionate about using aeronautics to contribute game-changing solutions. The foundation she started, DragonFly United, promises to fly KH Aerospace technology to higher heights for people and the planet. Fatema is also passionate about female-driven entrepreneurship.

Follow KH Aerospace on LinkedIn and Twitter, and check out the KH Aerospace website for their latest news and media engagements.

Mark Thiele, CEO of Edgevana, discusses all things edge computing. He is the CEO and Founder of Edgevana, a startup dedicated to helping expand and improve the data center services market by providing the buyer with an exceptional experience and the sellers with the tools needed to compete more effectively on a global playing field.  

Thiele has over 30 years experience in IT executive roles at HP, Gilead, VMware, Brocade, Switch, Apcera, and Ericsson, with his most recent work being almost exclusively associated with edge computing. Thiele’s work includes building data centers, deploying global networks, virtual and cloud infrastructure and designing and deploying solutions for Edge. 

Thiele is an industry spokesperson on trends, data center strategy, sustainability, and efficiency.  He is also an expert in edge computing, cloud and IT adoption strategies . He is the Chairman for the IDC-A.org technical committee, co-founder of Data Center Pulse, technical contributor to The Green Grid, member of IBM Cloud Minds, and has numerous followers of his blogs and podcasts. Mark is also an advisor, and board member to several technology startups.

Major investigation Reveals Israeli-based NGO Group’s Pegasus spyware has been used to spy on journalists, activists and others via Apple’s iOS -  Snowden pointed out., Amazon CloudFront, URL Shorteneing Servers, DNS Servers, and more.  China was accused of backing cyber attacks in a rare co-ordinated effort by the US, UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the EU, Japan and NATO, followed by the DoJ charging 3 Chinese officials. Bezos landed safely and has since offered NASA $2B to reignite the space race. UFO or swarm of bugs? Object recorded over South Carolina ignites tabloid coverage.

This week our guest David Perrill, CEO and Co-founder of Compute North. A 25-year veteran of IT and InfoSec, Dave has been keenly immersed in the cryptocurrency mining industry and blockchain technology since its formative days. 

He founded and subsequently sold two technology companies, including SecureConnect, an ISP which morphed into a Managed Security Provider, and was ultimately was acquired by Trustwave Holdings in 2012. He also served as CEO of Wand Corporation, a leading point-of-sale and Digital Menu board provider to the Quick Service Restaurant industry. 

Dave has extensive experience in networking, data center engineering, scaling large IT systems, and security. He holds a BS in Management Information Systems and an MBA in Finance from the University of Minnesota. Dave has been a member of YPO (Young Presidents Organization) since 2015 as part of the Twin Cities chapter in Minneapolis.