Boeing and later got his MIT classmates together to start what would become Airware.

FORBES: Drone Startup Airware Lands $10.7 Million Series A Led By Andreessen Horowitz

Airware is designed to be in the middle, with a customizable but reliable product, Downey says.

FORBES: Drone Startup Airware Lands $10.7 Million Series A Led By Andreessen Horowitz

Airware also has a customer in Africa that uses drones for anti-poaching uses to protect the white rhino.

FORBES: Drone Startup Airware Lands $10.7 Million Series A Led By Andreessen Horowitz

Currently commercial use of drones is not allowed by the FAA in the U.S., so Airware is focusing on international markets.

FORBES: Drone Startup Airware Lands $10.7 Million Series A Led By Andreessen Horowitz

Jonathan Downey, founder of Y Combinator-backed Airware, says he had the rough idea for the drone software company before graduating from Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2006.

WSJ: Age Rises for Some Tech-Firm Founders

Usess of the Airware technology, which started shipping last November, so far include agricultural drones that use image analysis to decrease waste of water and increase crop yields.

FORBES: Drone Startup Airware Lands $10.7 Million Series A Led By Andreessen Horowitz

For Downey, Airware combines his two passions: engineering and flying.

FORBES: Drone Startup Airware Lands $10.7 Million Series A Led By Andreessen Horowitz