Close to a decade ago, brothers Aviv and Matteo Shapira co-founded a company, Replay, that created a video format for 360-degree replays — the sorts of replays that have become part and parcel of major sports broadcasts.
Replay caught the attention of Intel, which acquired the company in 2016 for a reported $175 million, and led Aviv and Matteo to a chance meeting with Rubi Liani, the founder of Israeli’s official drone racing league (FRIL).
Liani turned the brothers on to drone racing — and planted the seed of the idea for their next startup, Xtend, which he helped found.
“As founders, we saw an opportunity to bridge the gap between our experiences,” Aviv told TechCrunch. “We recognized the exceptional skills required to control advanced robots, particularly drones. Our vision was to develop technology that would make controlling these robots intuitive and…
