A Sussex and London company that runs drones from a central control room to inspect power lines and other critical infrastructure.
sees.ai develops what it calls autonomous aerial solutions for critical infrastructure. Its drones fly beyond the pilot's visual line of sight, controlled from a central room, to take close-up images and measurements of electricity pylons and cables. The data becomes 2D images and 3D models that are checked with artificial intelligence. Its drones fly within metres of lines and steelwork. The firm holds permission from the UK Civil Aviation Authority for routine beyond-visual-line-of-sight inspections of live overhead power lines.
We did not find a formal mission statement. The company's stated aim, in coverage of its CAA approval, is to enable safe drone operations at national scale, and it sees this as a step towards aerial logistics and mobility. Chief executive John McKenna has said he is "immensely proud that National Grid and the CAA trust us to deploy safely on critical infrastructure".
sees.ai was founded in 2016 and a directory lists its locations as London (Kings Cross) and West Sussex, including Chichester, with a team of 11 to 50 people. In September 2025 National Grid announced a national rollout of centralised drone inspections across its transmission network in England and Wales, with sees.ai providing the system. The first approval covered two National Grid sites, with partner Keen AI handling condition assessment and reporting. The company has worked with the CAA's Regulatory Sandbox since 2019 and was part of the Boeing-backed Aerospace Xelerated accelerator in the UK.
We did not find a culture or values statement. The Science Minister said government support helped the company grow from early-stage research into a commercial partnership, and National Grid says the drones complement helicopter and human inspections and reduce risk and environmental impact, and a director said they allow skilled line workers to focus on hands-on tasks. Kathryn Fairhurst of National Grid said the rollout shows a commitment to use innovative technologies to manage and upgrade its network. All are third-party views.
Job listings we saw included a drone operator pilot, a hardware engineer for UAV technology, a lead engineer for drone systems design and build, and a senior commercial lead. None were clearly entry level or dated, and the directory showed no open jobs when we checked. We found no graduate scheme, internship or apprenticeship, so use the careers page and consider operator and hardware roles as a possible start.
Website: sees.ai
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