The Drone Ultimatum Why True Drone Swarms Don't Exist Yet | Emma Bates
Nov 8, 2025
Emma Bates, co-founder and CEO of Cachai, dives into the complexities of true drone swarming. With a background in defense modernization, she explains why many so-called swarms, like light shows, don’t qualify and discusses how her team's software empowers distributed systems without a single point of failure. Emma elaborates on the challenges of achieving real-time consensus and the ethical implications of advanced autonomy in warfare. She also shares insights on government procurement and the potential for her technology in various sectors beyond defense.
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Early Friends-And-Family Fundraising
- Kachai began with friends-and-family funding while the founders iterated product-market fit.
- Emma and her brother Jesse bootstrapped early work until defense demand emerged in 2025.
Startup Survival Through Pivots And Frugality
- Kachai pivoted multiple times to survive until defense demand materialized in 2025.
- The team lived frugally, took grants, and delayed salaries to reach product-market fit.
Force Agreement On Shared State
- Integrate diverse platforms by forcing agreement on time, location, mission and changing states.
- Design the shared database so devices vote to accept updates before recording them.
