Drones for Extreme and Complex Environments

What happens when drones leave controlled airspace—and enter the real world?

In this episode of Silicon Valley Unplugged, we sit down with Gary Holmgren, CEO of Drover Labs, to explore the frontier of autonomous navigation in environments where traditional systems break down.

From dense industrial sites to remote infrastructure corridors, the challenge is no longer just flight—it’s perception, decision-making, and survival in complexity. Drover Labs is building drones that don’t rely on ideal conditions, but instead thrive in uncertainty—interpreting the world in real time and navigating through it with precision.

This conversation dives into the next generation of autonomy: how machines learn to see, adapt, and operate in unstructured, dynamic environments—and what that unlocks across industries from energy to defense.

For founders, engineers, and investors working at the edge of robotics and AI, this is a rare look into how real-world autonomy is being built—and where it’s going next.