Amer Fort in Jaipur, a drone in the air and its dock on the wall in front, in dithered dots of blue, violet and orange
  • Jaipur
  • 2026
  • In person

NestGen Retreat

Twenty-one pioneers came together in Jaipur for five days to step back from daily firefighting and exchange hard-earned lessons on scaling autonomous drone operations. Candid discussions continued over culinary experiences, historic fort visits and Holi celebrations, creating connections for a lifetime.

Watch the film

Prologue

1–5 March 2026 · Fairmont Jaipur, India

Breakthrough happens when the right people are in the same room.

Across industries and countries, pioneers were working through similar challenges: scaling deployments, navigating regulations and making the economics work. Each had experience others could learn from. The Retreat created space to bring that knowledge together, challenge assumptions and explore what they could achieve with each other.

A pile of round pin badges printed with the flags of the guests' countries
15countries, one pin each
  • Three pioneers at a round table, one laughing into a microphone

    01 Off-the-record discussions

    The honest version.

    What worked, what failed and what it took. Candid discussions under Chatham House rules.

  • The whole group in black NestGen T-shirts in the courtyard of Amer Fort, the ochre gate behind them

    02 Peer-led learning

    Experience to build on.

    Real deployment lessons on scaling operations, navigating approvals and making the economics work.

  • Two guests deep in conversation by a lit pavilion at the welcome evening

    03 Connections beyond work

    Peers who became friends.

    Shared meals, fort visits and Holi brought pioneers and companions closer beyond the sessions.

Pioneers21
Countries
15
Awards
9
Industries

Oil & Gas · Utilities · Security · Mining · Public Safety

5+
Community1

Agenda

1–4 March 2026

Day 01 · Sunday, 1 March

Aagman

A welcome, the Rajasthani way.

Traditional music, local artisans and a Rajasthani dinner welcomed pioneers and companions to Jaipur.

The evening in sixteen frames

01 / 16

Day 02 · Monday, 2 March

The Forum

From shared challenges to practical answers.

Peer discussions explored deployment outcomes, ROI and AI, followed by an afternoon together at Amer Fort.

The day in fifteen frames

01 / 15

Day 03 · Tuesday, 3 March

Deep dives

Working through what it takes to scale.

Pioneers compared approaches to running multi-site operations, navigating regulations and putting AI to work.

The day in sixteen frames

01 / 16

Day 04 · Wednesday, 4 March

Jashn-e-Holi

Colours, recognition and a farewell.

A morning of Holi celebrations led into an evening honouring the pioneers and the connections made throughout the Retreat.

01Morning · 9 AM to noon

Jashn-e-Holi

A private Holi on the rooftop: the dhol, Kachi Ghodi dancers, caricaturists, balloon shooting and a bioscope, and colour on everyone.

Holi in thirteen frames

01 / 13

02Evening · 6 to 10 PM

Rukhsat

The regal farewell: folk dance, mehendi and music in the painted halls, the last conversations, and a gift for every pioneer to take home.

Rukhsat in ten frames

01 / 10

The Awards

9 awards · 4 March

Celebrating the pioneers moving the industry forward.

The NestGen Awards recognised achievements in scaling operations, solving deployment challenges and helping others succeed.

Read the awards recap
  1. Nicola Marietti of AI View Group receiving the Pioneer of the Year award

    01 Jury

    Pioneer of the Year

    Nicola Marietti, AI View Group

    Stepped into autonomy before proven models, standards or ROI frameworks existed.

  2. Jean Keultjes of Skeye receiving the Operational Excellence award

    02 Jury

    Operational Excellence

    Jean Keultjes, Skeye

    Structured, repeatable operations in regulated airspace.

  3. Ola Gunnar Braten of Statnett receiving the Challenging Deployment Excellence award

    03 Jury

    Challenging Deployment Excellence

    Ola Gunnar Braten, Statnett

    Autonomy across large, mission-critical infrastructure.

  4. Groupe Protec of France receiving the Sovereign Systems Architect award

    04 Jury

    Sovereign Systems Architect

    Groupe Protec, France

    Secure, compliant drone programmes for high-trust enterprises.

  5. Matt Ierston of Airbus receiving the Visionary of the Year award

    05 Jury

    Visionary of the Year

    Matt Ierston, Airbus

    A long view that ties technology, regulation and strategy together.

  6. Andrew Myers of Terabase receiving the Master of Scale award

    06 Jury

    Master of Scale

    Andrew Myers, Terabase

    From proof of concept to structured, multi-site deployment.

  7. Rodrigo Mendoza of Walross receiving the Business Excellence award

    07 Jury

    Business Excellence

    Rodrigo Mendoza, Walross

    Commercial structure that lets autonomy pay for itself.

  8. Fearghus Foyle of GeoAerospace receiving the Innovator award

    08 Peer-voted

    Innovator

    Fearghus Foyle, GeoAerospace

    Ideas that take the friction out of adoption.

  9. Matt Ierston of Airbus receiving the Ecosystem Catalyst award

    09 Peer-voted

    Ecosystem Catalyst

    Matt Ierston, Airbus

    Knowledge, tools and frameworks shared so others move faster.

Who was in the room

19 organisations · 15 countries
  • Where the pioneers came from
  • Jaipur, where they met

A world of experience, brought together.

Pioneers from 15 countries brought firsthand experience of autonomous drone operations. They included enterprise teams running their own programs and solution providers delivering deployments for others.

  1. AustraliaRipper Corp, HoverUAV, MSS Security
  2. BelgiumBelgium Police
  3. BrazilOCA Drones
  4. CyprusSecurity CY
  5. FranceGroupe Protec
  6. IrelandGeoAerospace
  7. ItalyAI View Group
  8. NetherlandsDroneLand, Skeye, LUGN
  9. NorwayStatnett
  10. PeruUAV Latam
  11. Saudi ArabiaKokba
  12. SlovakiaUAVONIC
  13. ThailandSystronics
  14. United KingdomAirbus
  15. United StatesTexas Instruments

In their words

The pioneers, on camera

What made the difference

Pioneers reflect on the conversations, connections and ideas that stood out.

1 / 8

“For me personally it’s brilliant, because we’re all in the same boat, we’re all facing the same problems. In your own space you always think you’re the only one trying to solve this huge problem. I’ve been to conferences where people are a bit closed: formal conferences. Whereas this, FlytBase have brought together a group of people and created this friendly atmosphere, really casual. People feel a lot more open.”

Fearghus Foyle

CEO, GeoAerospace · Ireland

Rows of white NestGen tote bags laid out on a long table, the welcome gifts
A guest at a dinner table filming the stage on a phone
A guest in a pink shirt smiling at a dinner table at the Aagman evening
A guest speaking into a microphone at the Aagman evening
A guest with a microphone, smiling, on the courtyard stage at night
A guest in white speaking with a microphone at night
Guests and the FlytBase team gathered round, laughing, at night
Guests walking single file along the walls of Amer Fort
A guest in the crowd in the courtyard of Amer Fort
The FlytBase team in matching black tees in front of the gate at Amer Fort
A speaker at the Forum lectern, in front of the NestGen Retreat screen
A caricature poster on an easel under a scalloped arch
A copper bowl of golden kachoris
A rooftop chhatri pavilion set up for Holi
Two guests in white kurtas under a pavilion on the rooftop
A guest helping another into an orange bandhani dupatta
Guests in white and orange arriving through the arches for Holi
A guest with a colour-dusted face taking a photo
Two guests in orange dupattas and sunglasses, laughing
Three guests in sunglasses and bandhani dupattas sharing a joke
A guest in a red turban and an orange dupatta
A colour-dusted guest grinning in an orange dupatta while a friend films
A guest in a red bandhani dupatta on the rooftop
Guests posing with a caricaturist's sketch under the arches
Coloured glasses and party sunglasses laid out on a table for Holi
The pioneers posed in white kurtas and red dupattas under the rainbow canopy
Two guests hugging, faces streaked with colour
Guests dancing on the rooftop in white and red, colour in the air
A guest diving into the shallow pool of water and rose petals
A guest in sunglasses grinning, his face dusted pink and blue
Three guests in sunglasses and pink dupattas, laughing together
A guest with colour in his hair laughing among friends
A speaker at the lectern beside a slide reading Story Two, The Nervous System
A FlytBase speaker on stage in front of the bright NestGen backdrop
A host on stage presenting the Day 2 itinerary for pioneers and companions
A pioneer greeting the FlytBase team with folded hands in the hotel lobby
A guide pointing out the fort to a crowd of guests at Amer Fort
The whole retreat posed on the steps of the painted gate at Amer Fort
The group seated in front of the painted Ganesh Pol gate
The fort’s geometric garden, the sun low over the walls
Guests gathered on a terrace of the fort by a domed pavilion
Guests walking through an arched gate of the fort at dusk
A guest welcomed back with a ceremonial umbrella at the hotel at night
A close view of a mehendi pattern on a guest’s hand
The AI View Group award handed over on stage
Four musicians on the floor with sitar, santoor, sarangi and tabla
Two guests hugging goodbye in the painted hall
Two pioneers in a long goodbye hug