The first time I came across Samuel Gonzalez, he was explaining drones like most people talk about playlists - modular, adaptable and made to fit the moment. Sitting at a Launch Club Breakfast in Surry Hills talking about aerodynamics over coffee (as you do) and all that could go through my head was “heck this is one of a kind.”
As we were sitting there, Samuel flipped through pages and pages of notes from the last decade he kept in his backpack. From sketches of drones to solutions built for his younger brother, the notebook was a keepsake and a symbol of turning his ideas into a reality. Fast forward to today Samuel has taken what was once a drawing on the back pages of his notebook into Peregrine Dynamics, the startup building ultra-modular drones that can do the job of five or more different aircraft in one.
“Right now every drone is built for a specific mission,” he said. “If you need drones for multiple missions, you need multiple drones. It’s kind of like having a different phone for every app on your phone.”
So, instead of fleets of specialised hardware, Samuel’s building one system that can flex across multiple use cases - think: mapping, surveillance, payload delivery, communications relays, even disaster relief. Combine just a few of those functions, and the possibilities start to multiply.
The idea started long before there was a company name, “I found out about 3D-printed drones and realised I could actually make one myself,” he said. “I couldn’t choose between a cargo concept, a reconnaissance drone or a fast, agile one. So I figured, why not build something that can do it all?”
Accelerated through Blackbird’s Protostars, Samuel began to gather momentum (and attention) for Peregrine. “Halfway through I thought, hang on, there might be something here,” Samuel said. By the time he joined our eight-week pre-accelerator Launch Club, it had become a full-blown venture, one grounded not just in curiosity but in conviction.
“For me, it’s an ethics thing,” he explained. “If I’m doing something I love and I have the means to help people with it, I feel like I have an obligation to give it the best possible shot.”
As we continued chatting what became clear is that the technical side of Peregrine is what keeps Samuel hooked. The problem Peregrine is solving runs deeper than efficiency. Today, drone capability is scattered across dozens of incompatible platforms. “That makes the financial and logistical cost of operating them huge,” Samuel said. “If you’re a firefighter, you might need drones for search and rescue, incident monitoring, and comms relays. Buying, maintaining and training across all those systems becomes a barrier to entry. So entire industries that could benefit from drones stick to outdated tools like helicopters, trucks, motorbikes because the tech’s just not there yet.”
For Samuel, modularity isn’t just engineering elegance; it’s access. One drone that can adapt on the fly could open the door for everyone from farmers to first responders.
Still building alongside full-time uni, Samuel and I continued chatting about his journey through programs like Protostarts and Launch Club and how it helped him find balance in the build. “I learned it’s better to work at eighty percent capacity for six months than a hundred percent and burn out in two,” he said. “I learned a lot about myself as a founder, how to work and how to sustain it.”
“So why Peregrine?” I prompted.
Samuel continued saying that the name came naturally. “The peregrine falcon is my favourite bird,” he said. “It’s the fastest in the world. I wanted to take that speed into my work.”
Samuel isn’t chasing scale for the sake of it. He’s motivated by curiosity, craft and impact in a rare mix of engineer and ethicist. “I’m really excited to get a prototype flying in the next few months,” he said. “Some flight footage, a real proof of concept. That’s the next milestone.”
He’ll be pitching at Runway later this month, a chance to show what Peregrine’s wings can do in motion. For now, he’s looking for mentors, technical experts and industry collaborators to help sharpen the path forward.
If you’re an investor specifically interested in hardware, deeptech and defence/dual use. Samuel’s DMs are always open!
Connect with Samuel on LinkedIn or through the Peregrine Dynamics website.
What started as sketches in a notebook has become a re-imagining of flight itself. Huge kudos to Samuel, what an exciting journey to come.
