ZenaTech’s ZenaDrone Subsidiary Launches an Early Wildfire Detection Drone System and Tests with a Prospective California Business Customer

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, April 22, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- ZenaTech, Inc. (Nasdaq: ZENA) (FSE: 49Q) (BMV: ZENA) ("ZenaTech"), a technology company specializing in AI (Artificial Intelligence) drones, Drone as a Service (DaaS), enterprise SaaS, and Quantum Computing solutions, announces today that its subsidiary ZenaDrone is launching a drone-based early wildfire detection system. The Company plans to conduct onsite testing and evaluation with a prospective California business customer seeking to protect its 400-acre rural outdoor tourist attraction business from wildfires.

The new system and pending agreement mark important progress toward transforming wildfire prevention, utilizing the ZenaDrone 1000 multifunction autonomous AI drone equipped with thermal imaging and LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) technology. The drone is engineered to detect early-stage heat signatures and smoke -- particularly at night -- enabling emergency teams to act before a spark can grow into a devastating blaze while also minimizing human patrol costs to monitor grounds.

With California’s wildfire seasons lasting longer and becoming more severe, as witnessed in the fires in Los Angeles earlier this year, the need for proactive and high-tech solutions has never been more urgent. According to , the global wildfire production market is projected to grow from $9.68 billion in 2024 to $22.47 billion by 2032, exhibiting a 12.6% CAGR. The US portion of the global market is substantial and growing, driven by increasing wildfire frequency and severity due to climate change.

“Wildfires are not slowing down—but with drone technology emergency response and prevention measures can dramatically speed up. As these risks increase globally, demand from the government, insurers, and private sectors is increasing, particularly in the dry and hot US West and Southwest areas. We believe the ZenaDrone 1000 is well-positioned to lead innovation in addressing this need with much improved precision and cost-effectiveness,” said CEO Shaun Passley, Ph.D.

ZenaTech plans to deploy multiple ZenaDrone 1000 drones for evaluating and testing fire detection performance across various environmental and terrain conditions. If the testing proves effective, the system will be fully deployed by the potential customer by Q4 in a Drone as a Service (DaaS) subscription model revenue solution.

The ZenaDrone 1000 is an autonomous drone, in a VTOL (Vertical Takeoff and Landing) quadcopter design with a total of eight rotors on its two fixed wings; it is considered a medium-sized drone measuring 12X7 feet in size. It is designed for stable flight, maneuverability, heavy lift capabilities up to 40 kilos, incorporating innovative software technology, AI, sensors, and purpose-built attachments, along with rugged and compact hardware featuring foldable wings enabling the drone to fit into the back of a truck.

About ZenaTech

(Nasdaq: ZENA) (FSE: 49Q) (BMV: ZENA) is a technology company specializing in AI drone, Drone as a Service (DaaS), enterprise SaaS and Quantum Computing solutions for mission-critical business applications. Since 2017, the Company has leveraged its software development expertise and grown its drone design and manufacturing capabilities through ZenaDrone, to innovate and improve customer inspection, monitoring, safety, security, compliance, and surveying processes. With enterprise software customers using branded solutions in law enforcement, government, and industrial sectors, and drones being implemented in these plus agriculture, defense, and logistics sectors, ZenaTech’s portfolio of solutions helps drive exceptional operational efficiencies, accuracy, and cost savings. The Company operates through seven global offices in North America, Europe, Taiwan, and UAE, and is growing a DaaS business model and global partner network.

About ZenaDrone

, a wholly owned subsidiary of ZenaTech, develops and manufactures autonomous business drone solutions that can incorporate machine learning software, AI, predictive modeling, Quantum Computing, and other software and hardware innovations. Created to revolutionize the hemp farming sector, its specialization has grown to multifunctional drone solutions for industrial surveillance, monitoring, inspection, tracking, process automation and defense applications. Currently, the drone is used for crop management applications in agriculture and critical field cargo applications in the defense sector, the indoor drone is used for inventory management and security in the warehouse and logistics sectors, and the is an indoor/outdoor drone designed for land survey and inspections use in commercial and defense sectors.

Contacts for more information:

Company, Investors and Media:

Linda Montgomery

ZenaTech

312-241-1415

Investors:

Michael Mason

CORE IR

Safe Harbor

This press release and related comments by management of ZenaTech, Inc. include “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of U.S. federal securities laws and applicable Canadian securities laws. These forward-looking statements are subject to the safe harbor provisions under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. This forward-looking information relates to future events or future performance of ZenaTech and reflects management’s expectations and projections regarding ZenaTech’s growth, results of operations, performance, and business prospects and opportunities. Such forward-looking statements reflect management’s current beliefs and are based on information currently available to management. In some cases, forward-looking information can be identified by terminology such as “may”, “will”, “should”, “expect”, “plan”, “anticipate”, “aim”, “seek”, “is/are likely to”, “believe”, “estimate”, “predict”, “potential”, “continue” or the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology intended to identify forward-looking statements.  Forward-looking information in this document includes, but is not limited to ZenaTech’s expectations regarding its revenue, expenses, production, operations, costs, cash flows, and future growth; expectations with respect to future production costs and capacity; ZenaTech's ability to deliver products to the market as currently contemplated, including its drone products including ZenaDrone 1000 and IQ Nano; ZenaTech’s anticipated cash needs and it’s needs for additional financing; ZenaTech’s intention to grow the business and its operations and execution risk; expectations with respect to future operations and costs; the volatility of stock prices and market conditions in the industries in which ZenaTech operates; political, economic, environmental, tax, security, and other risks associated with operating in emerging markets; regulatory risks; unfavorable publicity or consumer perception; difficulty in forecasting industry trends; the ability to hire key personnel; the competitive conditions of the industry and the competitive and business strategies of ZenaTech; ZenaTech’s expected business objectives for the next twelve months; ZenaTech’s ability to obtain additional funds through the sale of equity or debt commitments; investment capital and market share; the ability to complete any contemplated acquisitions; changes in the target markets; market uncertainty; ability to access additional capital, including through the listing of its securities in various jurisdictions; management of growth (plans and timing for expansion); patent infringement; litigation; applicable laws, regulations, and any amendments affecting the business of ZenaTech.