Beirut-based startup NAR Technologies, a portfolio company of Leap Ventures, has been acquired by US-based B3Bar.

Founded by Charlie El Khoury and Nicolas Zaatar, NAR works on automating drone inspection management processes using technologies like unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) and unmanned aerial systems (UAS) analytics for real-time data analysis and management.

“This is a successful [Lebanon Circular funding] 331 story that speaks to the merits of encouraging and investing in Lebanon’s knowledge economy and the Lebanese talent” said Hervé Cuviliez, managing partner at Leap.

In 2015, NAR joined Speed accelerator’s first cycle after winning Microsoft’s Imagine Cup.

“NAR complements B3Bar’s offer and integrates well with their platform serving B3Bar’s wide portfolio range of infrastructure & utilities-focused technology companies,” said Sami Abou Saab, CEO at Speed.

“With NAR, drone pilots can manage and work with data in real-time and literally on the fly. At B3Bar, our clients are ‘boots-on-the-ground’ engineers, inspectors, and contractors. As we continue our expansion in infrastructure and utilities, NAR brings proven tools that immediately reduce operating expenditure and help our clients deliver faster, “said Mothusi Pahl, chief commercial officer at B3Bar.