Beam Global is spending approximately $24 million to acquire ScoutDI, a Norwegian maker of indoor inspection drones. The definitive agreement, slated to close in November, swaps cash and common equity for a firm whose hardware crawls inside hazardous storage units and ship holds.
The driving motivation is manufacturing geography. Beam plans to shift assembly of ScoutDI's aircraft for the American market into its own domestic factories. European and Middle Eastern clients will rely on Beam's European plants alongside ScoutDI's retained technical base in Norway. That split directly addresses federal supply rules at a time when Washington is pushing to pull overseas flight hardware out of critical infrastructure.
ScoutDI’s core product is the Scout 137 Gen3. It stands as one of only four aerial platforms granted conditional clearance by the US Department of Defense, an endorsement that also earned it an exemption from the Federal Communications Commission's Covered List. Keeping that standing requires rigorous domestic sourcing. Beam intends to assemble the units stateside to satisfy requirements under the American Security Drone Act as well as the Pentagon's Blue UAS program.
Tanks, holds and subscriptions
The drone is engineered for grim spaces. Rather than flying wide-open skies, it maneuvers through dark cargo bays, chemical vats, and cramped utility conduits where human inspectors usually require scaffolding, safety harnesses, or hazardous-entry permits. ScoutDI already operates across 30 countries, selling inspection equipment to energy giants like Shell, Chevron, ExxonMobil, Petrobras, and Equinor, alongside specialized testing firms including Applus+ and DEKRA.
Software provides the recurring revenue Beam wants. ScoutDI licenses Scout Portal, a cloud subscription for handling inspection datasets, and is finishing autonomous flight tools to let the drones map facilities with less pilot oversight. For Beam, the fit makes tactical sense. The firm already builds batteries for submersibles and ground robots, alongside its off-grid BeamFlight remote charging setups. Adding an established airframe gives Beam a single catalog containing the drone, the power pack, and the charging dock.
ScoutDI chief executive Nicolai Husteli will stay in place to run the unit under Beam. Key shareholders — including Klaveness, DNV, and Equinor Ventures, will receive Beam stock as part of the transaction. The agreement also provides earn-out payments if ScoutDI's drone and software sales beat 2025 performance marks across 2026 and 2027. Beam has lined up financing commitments for the cash portion, leaving customary closing conditions as the final hurdle before the November handover.
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