ZenaTech Acquires Merritt Paul Land Surveying Expanding into Solar and Transportation Markets

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Sept. 15, 2026 /CourierPR/ -- ZenaTech, Inc., a technology company specializing in AI drone solutions and Drone as a Service (DaaS) platforms, has expanded its portfolio with the acquisition of Merritt Paul Land Surveying, LLC, a Georgia-based land surveying firm. This marks ZenaTech's 29th DaaS acquisition and solidifies its position in the fast-growing utility-scale solar and transportation infrastructure markets.

Founded in 2015, Merritt Paul has established a reputation for providing surveying services to the solar, transportation, and construction industries. The company is licensed to perform land surveys in 17 states and has a client base that includes solar developers, transportation, construction, and municipal, county, and state infrastructure customers in the Atlanta and Southwest Georgia areas.

Shaun Passley, Ph.D., CEO of ZenaTech, highlighted the strategic importance of the acquisition.

Merritt Paul's founders, Tyler Bius and Levi George, bring over a decade of specialized survey experience with major rail and airport clients. Their team's deep sector expertise will provide a strong platform to scale drone-based solar, rail, and airport surveying. The company offers topographic, ALTA, boundary, as-built, and construction layout surveys, with a specialized focus on utility-scale solar and battery storage projects across the United States.

The drone solar inspection market is projected to grow from $1.2 billion in 2024 to $6.8 billion by 2032, a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of approximately 25%, according to Verified Market Research. Management believes this growth, paired with the continued expansion of utility-scale solar capacity across the U.S., will drive increasing demand for drone-based inspection and survey services across solar assets.

Drone-based surveying is increasingly used to map rail corridors, inspect track beds, culverts, and overhead infrastructure, and support construction staking and grading work at airports without disrupting active operations. High-resolution imagery, LiDAR, and photogrammetry allow survey teams to capture rail corridor and runway-adjacent data faster and more safely than traditional ground crews. The broader inspection drone market, which covers infrastructure sectors including rail and aviation, is projected to grow from roughly $4 billion in 2025 to more than $12 billion by 2032, according to Fortune Business Insights. Management believes this growth, combined with tightening safety and compliance requirements, will continue to expand demand for drone-based survey and inspection services across rail networks and airport facilities.

ZenaTech's Drone as a Service platform provides business and government customers with subscription-based drone services using its vertically integrated ZenaDrone drones, for a host of surveying, inspections, maintenance, power washing, and precision agriculture solutions. Through the acquisition of established, profitable but under-digitized service businesses, ZenaTech is building a scalable global DaaS network and AI autonomy platform, with recurring revenue and an existing customer base, while integrating advanced drone technologies to deliver greater speed, precision, safety, and data-driven insights.

The company continues to expand its geographic footprint, service offerings, and drone capabilities to drive long-term growth. With an operating footprint spanning North America, Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and Australia, ZenaTech is advancing AI drones for agriculture and logistics, as well as ISR, cargo, and counter-UAS applications for U.S. defense and NATO allies. The company is investing in next-generation technologies, including drone swarms, quantum computing, and advanced AI autonomy to capture long-term opportunities in key markets through its R&D initiatives.