Tracxn Startup Research Drones Landscape, July 2016

Drones Report, July 2016
Tracxn
World’s Largest Startup Research Platform
2

Contents
3
Topic Page No.
Scope of Report 05
Entrepreneur Activity 07
Investment Trend 09
Who is Investing 17
Exit Outlook - IPO, Acquisitions 21
Sub Sector Analysis 24
Interesting Companies 40
Useful Links 45
Company List 47
Team 255

Illustrative Sectors We Track
ENTERPRISE
INFRASTRUCTURE
CONSUMER
SECURITY
STORAGE
NETWORKING
MOBILITY
IT OPS
CLOUD INFRASTRUCTURE
API MANAGEMENT
BIGDATA INFRASTRUCTURE
FOOD TECH
SECOND HAND GOODS
MOBILE
EDUCATION
MOBILE COMMERCE
MOBILE PAYMENTS
MOBILE MARKETING
MOBILE DEV TOOLS
MOBILE HEALTH
MOBILE GAMING
MOBILE LEARNING
MOBILE COMMUNICATION
EDUCATION IT
SELF LEARNING
ENTERPRISE
APPLICATIONS
HEALTHCARE
SAAS
MOBILE-FIRST ENT. APPS
INTELLIGENT ENT. APPS
OPEN SOURCE
RETAIL TECH
MARKETING TECH
STEALTH MODE
VERTICAL SAAS
LIFE SCIENCES
DIGITAL HEALTH
TECHNOLOGY
FINTECH
INTERNET OF THINGS
3D PRINTING
CONSUMER ROBOTICS
WEARABLES
SMART HOMES
DRONES
SMART CARS
VIRTUAL REALITY
BITCOIN
PAYMENTS

Sector Overview
Scope of Report:
This report covers companies that provide hardware, hardware parts and peripherals, software, services, end-to-end solutions
relating to rotary and fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicles (drones) for consumer, commercial and military purposes. Companies
that provide drone-enabled services for media production, inspections and other applications are covered. The report also
covers companies that provide counter-drone systems (systems that perform drone detection or drone disabling or both). The
accessories covered under hardware parts and peripherals include, among others, image stabilization gimbals, navigation
modules, sensors, controllers. The rise of non-military drones in the past few years has been facilitated by large amounts of
private funding.
The report does not cover unmanned ground, surface and underwater vehicles. It also excludes resellers, distributors and multi-
brand retailers of drones, and drone-focused news media and review and discussion forums.
Important Funding Events in 2016 YTD:
• Airware - $30M in Mar 2016 from Next World Capital, Andreessen Horowitz and KPCB
• Airobotics - $28.5M in Jun 2016 from UpWest Labs, BlueRun Ventures, Charles River VC and others
• Zero Zero Robotics - $23M in Apr 2016 from GSR Ventures, Zhenfund, IDG Ventures and others
• PrecisionHawk - $18M in Apr 2016 from Intel Capital, NTT Docomo Ventures, Verizon Ventures and others
The scope of this report includes equity as well as debt funding received by the companies.

Scope of Report
Entrepreneur Activity
Investment Trend
Who is Investing
Exit Outlook - IPO, Acquisitions
Sub Sector Analysis
Interesting Companies
Useful Links
Company List
Team
66

39
55
83
135
224 222
20
0
50
100
150
200
250
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 YTD
NumberofCompanies
7
YoY – Number of companies founded
Augmented Pixels Airware Swift Navigation Skycatch Ehang Talon Aerolytics Spectr
AIRINOV PrecisionHawk Flypro Kespry Airobotics Drone Racing League AeroHawgle Ltd.

Scope of Report
Investment Trend
Who is Investing
Sub Sector Analysis
Useful Links
Company List
Team
88

YoY – Number of Rounds and Total Funding
Note: The funding includes debt rounds also.
$3M $8M $3M
$5M $28M
$89M
$191M
$1.0B
$289M
3
8
3
10
18
36
58
102
49
0
24
48
72
96
120
0
240
480
720
960
1200
2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
NumberofRounds
FundingAmount(inMillions)
Funding Amount Number of Rounds

YoY – Number of Rounds by Stage
6 10
20
32
57
18
2
4
12
18
27
24
1
1
6
2
0
20
40
60
80
100
2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
NumberofRounds
Seed Early Late

YoY – Funding by Stage
$2M $7M $18M $26M $47M $12M$2M $11M
$69M
$153M
$356M
$199M
$6M
$10M
$603M
$48M
0
240
480
720
960
1200
2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
TotalFundingAmount(inMillions)
Seed Early Late

Average Ticket Size – Early Stage
$1.0M
$1.3M $1.2M $1.1M
$3.8M
$12.8M
$16.0M
$7.4M
$21.0M
$17.5M
$29.7M
$16.1M
0.0
7.0
14.0
21.0
28.0
35.0
2013 2014 2015 2016
Seed Series A Series B

Top investments in last one year
Company
Funding
Amount
Round
Name
Date Investors
dji.com
DJI
(Shenzhen, 2006)
$500M Series C Sep-2015 GIC, New China Life Insurance, New Horizon Capital
yuneec.com
Yuneec
(Shanghai, 1999)
$60M Series A Aug-2015 Intel Capital
aeryon.com
Aeryon Labs Inc.
(Waterloo, 2007)
$46M Series A Oct-2015 Summit Partners
ehang.com
Ehang
(Guangzhou, 2014)
$42M Series B Aug-2015
GGV Capital, LeBox Capital, PreAngel Partners, ZhenFund, Shenzhen
Oriental Fortune Capital Management
parrot.com
Parrot
(Paris, 1994)
$35M PE Nov-2015 Bpifrance
airware.com
Airware
(San Francisco, 2011)
$30M Series C Mar-2016 Next World Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, KPCB
airobotics.co.il
Airobotics
(Tel Aviv, 2014)
$29M Series B Jun-2016 BlueRun Ventures, Charles River Ventures, UpWest Labs
3dr.com
3D Robotics
(Berkeley, 2009)
$27M Debt May-2016 Nautilus Ventures

Top investments in last one year
Company
Funding
Amount
Round
Name
Date Investors
gethover.com
Zero Zero Robotics
(Beijing, 2014)
$23M Series A Apr-2016 GSR Ventures, ZhenFund, IDG ventures
droneshield.com
DroneShield
(Herndon, 2014)
$22M Series A Apr-2016
cyphyworks.com
CyPhy Works
(Danvers, 2008)
$22M Series B Oct-2015
Bessemer Venture Partners, Draper Nexus, General Catalyst Partners, Lux
Capital, Motorola Solutions, United Parcel Service
skycatch.com
Skycatch
(San Francisco, 2013)
$22M Series B Aug-2015
Riverwood Capital, Avalon Ventures, Bee Partners, Sherpalo Ventures,
Amino Capital
precisionhawk.com
PrecisionHawk
(Indianapolis, 2011)
$18M Series C Apr-2016
Verizon Ventures, USAA, Intel Capital, Millennium Technology Value
Partners, Innovate Indiana Fund, NTT Docomo Ventures, YMVSV
kespry.com
Kespry
(Menlo Park, 2013)
$16M Series B Jun-2016 DCM
airmap.com
AirMap
(Santa Monica, 2014)
$15M Series A Apr-2016
General Catalyst Partners, Lux Capital, Social Capital, TenOneTen, Bullpen
Capital, Pritzker Group
delair-tech.com
Delair-Tech
(Toulouse, 2011)
$14M Series B Mar-2016 Bpifrance, andromede

Funnel view of Sector
Percent of
Previous
17%
37%
29%
38
9
18
62
169
988
0 240 480 720 960 1200
M&A & IPO
Late
Series B
Series A
Funded
Founded
Number of Companies

Scope of Report
Investment Trend
Who is Investing
Sub Sector Analysis
Useful Links
Company List
Team
6
16

Most Active Investors in Sector
6 6
5 5 5
4 4 4 4 4
0
1
3
4
6
7
Andreessen
Horowitz
SV Angel GV Qualcomm
Ventures
Y Combinator Felicis Ventures Intel Capital Lux Capital Parrot Techstars
TotalNumberofCompanies
Airware Zipline Airware 3D Robotics Airware CyPhy Works Airware CyPhy Works MicaSense Skyward
SkySafe Lily Robotics Skycatch Skycatch DroneBase Swift Navigation Yuneec AirMap Pix4D Neurala

Where are Top Investors investing
Andreessen
Horowitz
SV Angel GV
Qualcomm
Ventures
Y
Combinator
Felicis
Ventures
Intel Capital Lux Capital Parrot Techstars
UAV
Manufacturers
Matternet
Lily Robotics
Stork
3D Robotics
CyPhy Works
Stork
Yuneec CyPhy Works Inova Drone
Software
Airware
Skydio
Airware
Hivemapper
Airware
Iris
Automation
Vertical AI
Airware AirMap Pix4D
Skyward
Neurala
End-To-End
Solution Providers
Skycatch Skycatch PrecisionHawk AIRINOV
Service Providers
Zipline
DroneBase
Zipline DroneBase
Drone detection SkySafe SkySafe
Hardware Parts &
Peripherals
Swift
Navigation
Swift
Navigation
Moog
Crossbow
MicaSense Skysense

Top Investor by Stage of Entry
Techstars 4
Y Combinator 4
Andreessen Horowitz 3
Founder Collective 3
SV Angel 3
Space Angels Network 3
Start-Up Chile 3
Ben Franklin Technology
Partners
2
Blackbird Ventures 2
Bloomberg Beta 2
Accel 1
Amino Capital 1
Avalon Ventures 1
Bee Partners 1
Bessemer Venture Partners 1
BlueRun Ventures 1
Bpifrance 1
Bristow Group Inc 1
Cambridge Consultants 1
Seed Series A Series B Later Stage
Felicis Ventures 3
GV 3
SV Angel 3
Sequoia Capital 3
Commercial Drone Fund 2
General Catalyst Partners 2
Lemnos Labs 2
Lux Capital 2
NEA 2
Promus Ventures 2
Intel Capital 2
Advantage Capital Partners 1
Athenian Venture Partners 1
Atlantic Bridge Capital 1
Battery Ventures 1
Bpifrance 1
Cambridge Consultants 1
Cisco 1
Florida Gulfshore Capital 1

Scope of Report
Investment Trend
Who is Investing
Sub Sector Analysis
Useful Links
Company List
Team
0
20

Top IPOs in last three years
IPO Date Company Overview
Funding
Amount
Jan-2016 department13.com
Department 13
(Columbia, 2010)
Builds wireless technology, including drone detection systems
Apr-2015 dronevolt.com
Drone Volt
(Villepinte, 2011)
UAV manufacturer for professional uses
Jan-2015 valmie.com
Valmie
(Houston, 2014)
Develops custom drone solutions - hardware and software - for clients.
Jun-2013 deltadrone.com
Delta Drone
(Grenoble, 2011)
Quadcopters, plane UAVs and payload sensors
Jun-2007 cybaero.se
CybAero
(Linkoping, 2003)
Develops and manufactures unmanned helicopters
AeroVironment $3M
Jan-2007 avinc.com
AeroVironment
(Simi Valley, )
Design, development and production of UAV
Jun-2006 parrot.com
Parrot
(Paris, 1994)
Connected products like drones, gardening and car kits for consumer
Bpifrance, Seventure Partners $35.1M
Mar-1995 lockheedmartin.com
Lockheed Martin
(Bethesda, 1995)
Designs UAVs and unmanned systems for military

Major Acquisitions in last one year
Date Company Acquirer Deal Size Overview
Total
Funding
Sep-2015 skybotix.com
Skybotix
(Zurich, 2009)
GoPro Undisclosed
Developer of advanced UAV navigation solutions
Oct-2015 aetosgroup.com
Aetos Group Inc
(Houston, 2010)
Mistras
Group
Undisclosed
Service provider for the petrochemical and oil & gas industries
May-2015 szsungreen.com
Wingsland
(Shenzhen, 2014)
CNlight $2.42M
Photography and Video Capture UAV Manufacturer
Jul-2012 sensefly.com
SenseFly
(Cheseaux-sur-
Lausanne, 2009)
Parrot $5.067M
Maker of the eBee and swinglet CAM mini-UAVs
Apr-2012 gatewing.com
Gatewing
(Ghent, 2008)
Trimble Undisclosed
UAVs for photogrammetry and rapid terrain mapping applications
Apr-2014 titanaerospace.com
Titan Aerospace
(Moriarty, 2012)
Google Undisclosed
Solar powered UAV manufacturer
Mar-2014 aparotors.com
Aerial Precision Ag
(Tempe, 2013)
RoboFlight Undisclosed
Easy to fly multirotor platform to captures HD video and photo images for
precision agriculture operations
Jun-2011 moog-crossbow.com
Moog Crossbow
(Milpitas, 1995)
Moog Inc. $32M
Develops smart-sensor technology for both manned & unmanned vehicles
Cisco, Morgenthaler, Intel Capital, Paladin Capital Group, The Cambria
Group
$12M

Scope of Report
Investment Trend
Who is Investing
Sub Sector Analysis
Useful Links
Company List
Team
3
23

July 2016Tracxn BlueBox : Drones
900+ companies in the sector, ~150 funded in last 5 years, $1.01B invested in 2015.
Most Active Investors: GV, Andreessen Horowitz, Felicis Ventures, SV Angel
Cumulative funding in the sector
END-TO-END SOLUTION PROVIDERS
Skycatch (2013, $38.4M)
$94MSERVICE PROVIDERS
Horizontal
Talon Aerolytics (2015, $10.5M)
Aerial Photography
Cape (2014, $10M)
Industrial Inspections
Sky-Futures (2009, $9.5M)
Precision Agriculture
Gamaya (2014, $4M)
Delivery
Zipline (2014, $18M)
Pilot Marketplace
DroneBase (2014, $7M)
$72M
UAV MANUFACTURERS $1.11B
Consumer
Parrot (1994, IPO)
Photography
DJI (2006, $605M)
Gaming
Drone Racing League (2015,
$7.6M)
Military
Aeryon Labs (2007,
$47M)
Commercial
Kespry (2013, $26M)
Delivery
Matternet (2011, $3M)
Inspection & Monitoring
Airobotics (2014, $28.5M)
SkySquirrel(2012, $1.2M)
$933M $151M $88M
SOFTWARE
Operating Systems
Airware (2011, $70M)
Fleet Management
AirMap (2014 ,$18M)
Autopilot
Skydio (2013, $3M)
$8M
$133M
$38M$71M
HARDWARE PARTS & PERIPHERALS
Navigation
SwiftNav (2012, $13.6M)
Sensors
Moog CrossBow
(1995, $12M)
$53M
$39M
DRONE DETECTION
DroneShield (2014, $26M)
$66M
Practice Area – Technology | Analysts: @57Anupam, @VijayBhaskar_Q

Top Business Models by Funding
$1.2B
$137M $98M $68M $66M $53M
0
280
560
840
1120
1400
UAV Manufacturers Software End-To-End Solution
Providers
Service Providers Counter-drone Systems Hardware Parts
& Peripherals
TotalFundingAmount(inMillions)
# Cos. 424 104 47 276 23 90
Avg. Founding Year 2009.9 2013 2012.6 2013.5 2001.7 2008.6
DJI Airware Skycatch Zipline DroneShield Swift Navigation
3D Robotics AirMap PrecisionHawk Talon Aerolytics Aveillant Moog Crossbow

UAV Manufacturers – Business Model Description
Designs & Builds Unmanned Aerial Vehicle systems & complementary solutions. Companies in this business model build drones for multiple
applications, chiefly photography (for consumer uses) and aerial imaging (for commercial uses). Military UAV manufacturers are also included in
this business model.
Commercial
Manufactures drones for industrial
applications
Consumer
Manufactures drones for consumer
applications
Military
Manufactures Unmanned Aerial Vehicle
systems for military applications

UAV Manufacturers – Entrepreneur Activity and
Investment Trend
$3M $4M $3M $4M $23M $49M
$113M
$902M
2
4
2
7
10
19
24
34
0
8
16
24
32
40
0
200
400
600
800
1000
2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
NumberofRounds
YoY – Total Funding and No. of Rounds
$925M
$184M
$88M
0
200
400
600
800
1000
Consumer Commercial Military
BM wise Investment
168
34
24 23
16 14 12 11
0
36
72
108
144
180
United
States
China India United
Kingdom
France Canada Spain Germany
NumberofCompanies
Distribution of Companies across Countries
10
21 20
36
40
58
84
58
0
18
36
54
72
90
2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
NumberofCompaniesFounded
YoY – No. of Companies Founded

UAV Manufacturers – Most Funded Companies
Company Overview Business Model
Funding
Amount
dji.com
DJI
(2006, Shenzhen)
Manufactures camera based consumer drones & camera stabilization systems
Accel, Sequoia Capital, KPCB, New Horizon Capital, GIC, New China Life Insurance
UAV Manufacturers >
Consumer > Photography
$605M
3dr.com
3D Robotics
(2009, Berkeley)
Develops both consumer and commercial drones & autopilot systems
O'Reilly AlphaTech Ventures, Mayfield, Qualcomm Ventures, Foundry Group, True Ventures,
SanDisk, Atlantic Bridge Capital, Two Sigma Ventures, SK Ventures, Finnish Industry
Investment, Nautilus Ventures, Mosaic Ventures, Danhua Capital, NFX Guild
UAV Manufacturers >
Consumer
$99M
yuneec.com
Yuneec
(1999, Shanghai)
Remotely operated consumer drones & camera stabilization gimbals
Intel Capital
UAV Manufacturers >
$60M
ehang.com
Ehang
(2014, Guangzhou)
Smart phone controlled consumer drones
GGV Capital, ZhenFund, PreAngel Partners, Shenzhen Oriental Fortune Capital Management,
LeBox Capital
UAV Manufacturers >
Consumer
$52M
aeryon.com
Aeryon Labs Inc.
(2007, Waterloo)
sUAV for HD imagery and aerial intelligence operations
Summit Partners, Feddev Ontario, Golden Triangle Angelnet, MaRS Investment Accelerator
Fund, MaRS IAF
UAV Manufacturers > Military $46.89M
parrot.com
Parrot
(1994, Paris)
Connected products like drones, gardening and car kits for consumer
Bpifrance, Seventure Partners
UAV Manufacturers >
Consumer
$35.1M
cyphyworks.com
CyPhy Works
(2008, Danvers)
Microfilament technology based secure multicopter drones provider
Bessemer Venture Partners, United Parcel Service, Felicis Ventures, General Catalyst Partners,
Motorola Solutions, Lux Capital, Draper Nexus, In-Q-Tel, National Institute of Standards and
Technology
UAV Manufacturers > Military $32M
airobotics.co.il
Airobotics
(2014, Tel Aviv)
Airobotics manufactures drones for industrial inspection purposes
Charles River Ventures, BlueRun Ventures, UpWest Labs
UAV Manufacturers >
Commercial > Inspection &
Monitoring
$28.5M

Software – Business Model Description
This business model includes software applications and platforms that enable drone flight (namely, flight control software and autopilot software).
Software tools for managing fleets of drones, storing and processing data are also included here. Miscellaneous tools such as airspace usage
planning software are also covered here.
Ancillary Software Enabling Software Others
Software for fleet and data management Software for operating drones; autopilot
software
Miscellaneous software applications and
platforms for drones

Software – Entrepreneur Activity and Investment
Trend
$3M
$18M
$33M
$31M
4
7
16
22
0
5
10
15
20
25
0
7
14
21
28
35
2012 2013 2014 2015
NumberofRounds
$98M
$21M $18M
0
24
48
72
96
120
Enabling Software Ancillary Software Others
BM wise Investment
43
9 8
5 4 4
2 2
0
10
20
30
40
50
US Israel UK Canada Australia Sing Belgium Bulgaria
NumberofCompanies
2 3 2
5
7 8
30 29
0
7
14
21
28
35
2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

Software – Most Funded Companies
Funding
Amount
airware.com
Airware
(2011, San Francisco)
Hardware, Software and cloud service for commercial drones
Y Combinator, First Round Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, Next World Capital, KPCB,
Felicis Ventures, Intel Capital, Shasta Ventures, GV, Promus Ventures, RRE Ventures,
Firelake Capital, GE Ventures
Software > Enabling Software
> Operating System
$70.42M
airmap.com
AirMap
(2014, Santa Monica)
Mapping software for drone collision avoidance and airspace information
Semil Shah, General Catalyst Partners, Bullpen Capital, Pritzker Group, Lux Capital,
TenOneTen, Legend Holdings, Space Angels Network, Bullpen Capital, Social Capital
Software > Others $17.6M
dronedeploy.com
DroneDeploy
Smart multiple drone management platform
Redpoint Ventures, Emergence Capital Partners, DFJ Venture, SoftTech VC, Data
Collective, AngelPad
> Operating System
$11M
skyward.io
Skyward
(2012, Portland)
Enterprise drones Fleet Management
Norwest Venture Partners, Techstars, Founders Co-op, Voyager Capital, Moment
Ventures, Verizon Ventures, Draper Associates
Software > Ancillary Software
> Fleet Management
$5.6M
proxytechnologies.com
Proxy Technologies
(2005, Reston)
Develops control software for unmanned aircrafts Software > Ancillary Software
> Fleet Management
$3.23M
skydio.com
Skydio
Computer vision and motion planning algorithm for Drones
Accel, Andreessen Horowitz
> Autopilot
$3M
hivemapper.com
Hivemapper
(2014, Palo Alto)
Maps for drones
Spark Capital, Founder Collective, Spark Capital, GV, Harrison Metal, Accelerator
Ventures, Homebrew
Software > Ancillary Software
> Image Processing & 3D
Mapping
$3M
dreamhammer.com
DreamHammer
(2012, Los Angeles)
Drone OS that links multiple drones into an integrated system Software > Enabling Software
> Operating System
$2.9M

End-To-End Solution Providers – Entrepreneur
Activity and Investment Trend
End-to-end solution providers manufacture
drones and provide services (both data
acquisition and data processing) to
customers.
End-to-end solution providers specifically for
precision agriculture purposes
22
4
3 3
2 2 2
1
0
5
10
15
20
25
United States India Canada Finland Australia France United
Kingdom
Belgium
NumberofCompanies
1
5
8
10
9
12
0
3
6
8
11
14
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
YoY – No. of Companies FoundedBusiness Model Description

End-To-End Solution Providers – Most Funded
Companies
Funding
Amount
skycatch.com
Skycatch
(2013, San
Francisco)
Autonomous drone platform for capturing aerial data
Amplify Partners, Qualcomm Ventures, FF Venture Capital, GV, Sherpalo Ventures, Google
Ventures, Avalon Ventures, Riverwood Capital, Entree Capital, SK Ventures, Bee Partners,
SierraMaya360, SierraMaya360, Amino Capital, ROOT, Amino Capital, VTF Capital
End-To-End Solution Providers $38.4M
precisionhawk.com
PrecisionHawk
(2011, Indianapolis)
UAV, Remote Sensing and GIS Data solutions
Intel Capital, Millennium Technology Value Partners, USAA, NTT Docomo Ventures,
Innovate Indiana Fund, Verizon Ventures, YMVSV
End-To-End Solution Providers
> Precision Agriculture
$30M
sentera.com
Sentera
(2014, Minneapolis)
Provides complete software & hardware solutions for precision agriculture &
infrastructure inspections End-To-End Solution Providers $8.05M
eagleeyeintelligence.co
m
EagleEye
Intelligence
(2015, Boca Raton)
Develops an integrated security and surveillance system using ground-based and UAV-
mounted sensors End-To-End Solution Providers $4.5M
airphrame.com
Airphrame
(2012, San
Francisco)
Deploying a fleet of drones as mapping solution
Floodgate, August Capital
gamaya.com
Gamaya
(2014, Lausanne)
Precision farming solutions using HSI technology deployed on drones
Sandoz, VI Partners, Seed4equity
End-To-End Solution Providers
> Precision Agriculture
$4.03M
sharpershape.com
SharperShape
(2013, Palo Alto)
End-to-end inspection and monitoring solutions provider using drones
VisionPlus Fund, Straightforward
identifiedtech.com
Identified Tech
(2013, Pittsburgh)
Self-piloting mapping drone system
Innovation Works, Birchmere Ventures

Service Providers – Business Model Description
Companies that provide services using drones manufactured by other companies. These services include aerial photography and surveying,
industrial inspection and monitoring, delivery, etc.
Aerial Photography &
Surveying
Horizontal Industrial Inspections Pilot Marketplace Others
Provides services for
multiple drone
applications
Drone inspection
services for industrial
applications
Marketplace platform
for commercial drone
services
Delivers aerial imaging &
surveying using drones
Miscellaneous drone-
enabled and drone
operation services

Service Providers – Entrepreneur Activity and
Investment Trend
$1M
$2M
$1M
$17M
2
3
4
19
0
4
8
12
16
20
0
4
8
12
16
20
2012 2013 2014 2015
NumberofRounds
$18M
$14M $14M
$11M
$9M
$1M
0
4
8
12
16
20
Delivery Industrial Insp. Horizontal P'graphy &
Survey
Pilot
Marketplace
Mktg.
BM wise Investment
114
49
16 13 10 10 7 7
0
24
48
72
96
120
US UK Australia Canada India Spain France N'lands
NumberofCompanies
2 4 6 5
19
42
70
104
0
24
48
72
96
120
2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

Service Providers – Most Funded Companies
Funding
Amount
flyzipline.com
Zipline
Drone delivery services for medical supplies
Stanford University, Sequoia Capital, SV Angel, GV, Subtraction Capital
Service Providers >
Delivery
$18M
itctalon.com
Talon Aerolytics
(2015, West Point)
UAS based aerial imagery services
Kinetic Ventures
Service Providers >
Horizontal
$10.5M
cape.com
Cape
(2014, Redwood City)
Aerial photography for action sports
NEA, XSeed Capital, Madrona Venture Group, S Cubed Capital, Commercial Drone Fund
Service Providers > Aerial
Photography & Surveying
$10M
sky-futures.com
Sky-Futures
(2009, Hayes)
Oil & gas drone inspection services
MMC Ventures, Bristow Group Inc, Commercial Drone Fund
Service Providers >
$9.52M
dronebase.com
DroneBase
(2014, Santa Monica)
Marketplace for commercial drone services
Y Combinator, SV Angel, Union Square Ventures, Rothenberg Ventures, Launchpad LA
Service Providers > Pilot
Marketplace
$7.08M
thecyberhawk.com
Cyberhawk
(2008, Livingston)
Aerial inspection and surveying company
Scottish Equity Partners, Clydesdale Bank
Service Providers >
$4.77M
redbird.fr
Redbird
(2013, Paris)
Data capture and analytic services
BERGERAT MONNOYEUR, Engie, Commercial Drone Fund
Service Providers >
Horizontal
$2.15M
better.vu
BetterView
Provides drone inspection services
Metamorphic Ventures, 500 Startups, Haystack, Router Ventures, MetaProp NYC, Arena
Ventures
Service Providers > Pilot
Marketplace
$1.55M

Counter-drone Systems – Entrepreneur Activity
and Investment Trend
Companies in this business model offer drone detection and disabling
technologies. These technologies are varied and include visual, audio,
radar and other forms of detection. Radio jamming, GPS spoofing and
even physical disabling are all techniques used to disable drones and,
in some cases, capture them.
$1.0M
$12M
$10M
$5M
1 1 1
7
0
2
3
5
6
8
0
3
6
8
11
14
2012 2013 2014 2015
NumberofRounds
2
1
2
7
5
0
2
3
5
6
8
2010 2011 2013 2014 2015
9
5
3
2 2
1 1
0
2
4
6
8
10
US UK France G'many N'lands Canada Finland
NumberofCompanies
Business Model Description

Counter-drone Systems – Most Funded Companies
Company Overview
Business
Model
Funding
Amount
droneshield.com
DroneShield
(2014, Herndon)
Develops drone detection security system
Drone detection $26.23M
aveillant.com
Aveillant
(2011, Cambridge)
Designs and builds radar systems for aircraft and drone detection
DFJ Venture, dfjesprit, Cambridge Consultants, esbhomes.com, Draper Esprit
dedrone.com
Dedrone
(2014, Kassel)
Provides drone early-warning and detection system
Menlo Ventures, Target Partners
skysafe.io
SkySafe
(2015, San Diego)
Develops airspace security solutions to detect unwanted drones
Andreessen Horowitz, SV Angel, Founder Collective, BoxGroup
Drone detection $3M
dronedefence.co.uk
Drone Defence
(2016, )
Builds drone detection and disabling systems
Drone detection
netvisiondronedetector.com
Netvision Drone Detector
(2015, Greenville)
Netvision Drone Detector
Drone detection

Scope of Report
Investment Trend
Who is Investing
Sub Sector Analysis
Useful Links
Company List
Team
9
39

Interesting Seed Companies
Total
Funding
augmentedpixels.com
Augmented Pixels
(2010, Palo Alto)
Augmented reality base indoor navigation solutions for robots & drones
The Hive, Plug and Play Tech Center, AVentures Capital, Plug and Play Accelerator
Software > Enabling
Software > Autopilot
$2.5M
Curated list of companies by the sector analyst are defined as Interesting

Interesting Series A Companies
Total
Funding
yuneec.com
Yuneec
(1999, Shanghai)
Remotely operated consumer drones & camera stabilization gimbals
Intel Capital
UAV Manufacturers >
$60M
swiftnav.com
Swift Navigation
Low cost, open source real time kinematics GPS receivers
First Round Capital, NEA, Qualcomm Ventures, Felicis Ventures, Promus Ventures,
VegasTechFund, Lemnos Labs, Fall Line Capital, VTF Capital
Hardware Parts &
Peripherals > Navigation
$13.6M
slantrange.com
SlantRange
(2013, San Diego)
Manufactures sensors and processing software for drone-based precision agriculture
The Investor Group
Hardware Parts &
Peripherals > Sensors
$5M
skyspecs.com
SkySpecs
(2012, Ann Arbor)
UAVs for aerial collection & inspection
Venture Investors, Accelerate Michigan, Huron River Ventures, Invest Detroit, Amherst
Fund, IncWell, Detroit Innovate, MI-CEVC, Michigan Angel Fund, Invest Michigan
UAV Manufacturers >
Commercial > Inspection
& Monitoring
$3.5M
Ehang
(2014, Guangzhou)
Smart phone controlled consumer drones
GGV Capital, ZhenFund, PreAngel Partners, Shenzhen Oriental Fortune Capital
Management, LeBox Capital
UAV Manufacturers >
Consumer
$52M
Skycatch
Autonomous drone platform for capturing aerial data
Amplify Partners, Qualcomm Ventures, FF Venture Capital, GV, Sherpalo Ventures, Google
Ventures, Avalon Ventures, Riverwood Capital, Entree Capital, SK Ventures, Bee Partners,
SierraMaya360, SierraMaya360, Amino Capital, ROOT, Amino Capital, VTF Capital
End-To-End Solution
Providers
$38.4M

Interesting Late Stage Companies
Total
Funding
dji.com
DJI
(2006, Shenzhen)
Manufactures camera based consumer drones & camera stabilization systems
Accel, Sequoia Capital, KPCB, New Horizon Capital, GIC, New China Life Insurance
UAV Manufacturers >
$605M
airware.com
Airware
Hardware, Software and cloud service for commercial drones
Y Combinator, First Round Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, Next World Capital, KPCB, Felicis
Ventures, Intel Capital, Shasta Ventures, GV, Promus Ventures, RRE Ventures, Firelake
Capital, GE Ventures
Software > Enabling
Software > Operating
System
$70.42M
precisionhawk.com
PrecisionHawk
(2011, Indianapolis)
UAV, Remote Sensing and GIS Data solutions
Intel Capital, Millennium Technology Value Partners, USAA, NTT Docomo Ventures,
Innovate Indiana Fund, Verizon Ventures, YMVSV
End-To-End Solution
Providers > Precision
Agriculture
$30M

Top Funded Deadpooled Companies
Funding
Amount
viastork.com
Stork
Programmable smartphone mounted personal telepresence robot
Sequoia Capital, Lerer Hippeau Ventures, SV Angel, Felicis Ventures, CrunchFund,
BoxGroup, Morado Ventures, VegasTechFund, PivotNorth Capital, PALgenesis, Klein
Venture Partners, Visionnaire Ventures, Lerer Hippeau Ventures, VTF Capital
UAV Manufacturers >
Commercial
$12.1M
wysper.ph
Wysper Drones
(2015, Manila)
Drones manufacturer UAV Manufacturers >
Commercial
BlackProp Tree Robotics
(2012, )
UAVs for aerial cinematography and logistics operations UAV Manufacturers >
Commercial > Delivery

Scope of Report
Investment Trend
Who is Investing
Sub Sector Analysis
Useful Links
Company List
Team
4
44

Useful Links
Slide Title Content Platform Link
List of All Companies in readable format Companies Link
Top investments in last one year Investment Trend Link
All IPOs Exit Outlook - IPO, Acquisitions Link
Major Acquisitions in last one year Exit Outlook - IPO, Acquisitions Link
Most Funded Companies Historical Top-Funding Link

Scope of Report
Investment Trend
Who is Investing
Sub Sector Analysis
Useful Links
Company List
Team
6
46

Drones – Company List
COVERS THE FOLLOWING SECTORS
UAV
Manufacturers
Software
End-to-end Solution
Providers
Service
Providers
Hardware Parts &
Peripherals
Counter-Drone
Systems

UAV Manufacturers (1/92)
UAV Manufacturers Software End-to-end Solution Providers Service Providers
Hardware Parts &
Peripherals
Counter-Drone
Systems
Company Details Funding Investors
UAV Manufacturers
INSITU Inc. [White Salmon, 1994]: INSITU designs customized unmanned aerial systems and media
management software solutions that provide information for superior decision making for military and
commercial applications.INSITU's platforms - ScanEagle and Integrator â€“ have logged more than 835,000
operational flight hours, and deliver high-quality, combat-proven ISR for both land and maritime missions. The
software solution caters to the media management challenges from hardware integration and systems
improvement to testing, evaluation, training and more. The company also provides 24/7 global training, services
and support. INSITU has trained more than 4,700 operators since 2004 at its on-site schoolhouses in the United
States and Australia.
$21.33M
Battery Ventures, Second Avenue
Partners
UAV Manufacturers
FeiYu Tech [Guilin, 2007]: GuiLin FeiYu Electronic Technology Co. Ltd. designs and manufactures gimbals for
cameras. It builds separate lines of gimbals for hand-held, wearable and drone gimbals. The company also builds
two multi-purpose fixed-wing drones - SkyCam and X8 - along with ground control station software. Feiyu also
builds autopilot modules, including the flagship Panda2.
UAV Manufacturers
Hiveground [Bangkok, 2011]: Hiveground manufactures drones and unmanned underwater vehicles for
commercial uses. It builds a multicopter drone optimized for plant stack inspections, as well as a fixed-wing
drone for multiple commercial and military uses. The company also builds an autonomous underwater vehicle
called Zeabus RoboSub.
Consumer
3D Robotics [Berkeley, 2009]: 3D Robotics manufactures both consumer and commercial drones for
photography, inspection,surveying and other purposes. UAV products includes Solo, a smartphone controlled
camera based intelligent drone; IRIS+, an easy-to-use fully autonomous (follow me technology based) small
drone. Developed Pixhawk, an open source autopilot system which is utilized in the drones it develops. It is the
manufacturing arm of the DIY Drones community at diydrones.com. Has offices in Berkeley, San Diego and
manufacturing operations in Guangzhou, China. The company is also developing business applications in data
analysis, mapping, 3D modeling and more for agriculture, construction, infrastructure and ecological study.
$99M
O'Reilly AlphaTech Ventures,
Mayfield, Qualcomm Ventures,
Foundry Group, True Ventures,
SanDisk, Atlantic Bridge Capital, Two
Sigma Ventures, SK Ventures, Finnish
Industry Investment, Nautilus
Ventures, Mosaic Ventures, Danhua
Capital, NFX Guild

Consumer
Ehang [Guangzhou, 2014]: Ehang, Inc. offers smartphone controlled consumer UAV called Ghost Drones.
Creates and develops aerial systems for recreational and commercial usages. It does not requires a remote
controller to carry around rather it works on a smartphone and a small G-Box. Winner of Tilt Video pitch contest
at Tech Crunch Disrupt 2014. Headquartered in San Carlos, USA along with offices in Beijing and Guangzhou in
China as well. Raised $112k in crowdfunding pre orders on IndieGoGo. Xiaoping Xu (founding partner and
executive director of ZhenFund), Nick Yang (venture partner at ePlanet Capital) also participated in the Series A
round.
$52M
GGV Capital, ZhenFund, PreAngel
Partners, Shenzhen Oriental Fortune
Capital Management, LeBox Capital
Consumer
Parrot [Paris, 1994]: Parrot designs, develops and markets UAVs that connect with smartphone or tablet, and
AR/VR headsets. Currently focused on automotive, civil drones and connected objects. Parrot is expanding on
the UAV market with the Parrot AR.Drone, a quadricopter piloted via Wi-Fi and using augmented reality and so
with new solutions to address the UAV market for professional use. Manufactures a wide array of drones, and is
listed on NYSE Euronext Paris since 2006. Was a leader in automotive infotainment area before it ventured into
mobile application platforms. Acquired DiBcom, a fabless semi-conductor company in July'11. Invested in
MicaSense, software provider to collect data on agriculture crops; and Airinov, provider of UAV farming
applications and sensors in 2014.
$35.1M Bpifrance, Seventure Partners
Consumer
Awesome Sauce Labs [Los Angeles, 2014]: Awesome Sauce Labs developing flying camera drones to capture
personal shots.
$50k
March Venture Partners,
QueensBridge Venture Partners,
vsi2.usc.edu
Consumer
Endurance Robots [San Francisco, 2015]: Endurance specializes in developing drones and robotic product
targeting the consumer applications. Products includes laser cutters accessory for 3D printers, telepresence
robot (rig), UAV quadcopter (under development). Developing Selfiebot, a smartphone holder, providing
features like motion auto-tracking during video calls and recording, wireless charging of mobilephone devices
and night vision for them. As of early Sept, 2015, they are aiming to raise $20K through crowdfunding campaign
on Indiegogo, a global crowdfunding platform. The company is a startup by ex-NASA contractor Matteo Borri
and Russian entrepreneur George I Fomitchev, founded on Jan 11, 2015.
$48.3k
Hardware Parts &
Peripherals
Counter-Drone
Systems

Consumer
Funaster [Delhi, 2014]: Funaster builds drones for surveillance and aerial photography/videography
applications. Its Zoomerator quadcotper contains an integrated camera and is designed for surveillance
purposes. The company also resells third-party drones, namely the Xiro Xplorer for photography purposes.
Consumer
Ctrl Me Robotics [Los Angeles, 2013]: Ctrl Me Robotics designs and builds custom ready-to-fly drones for
various applications. Ctrl Me also offers drone-based aerial cinematography services, as well as repair and
upgrade services. The company also provides 3D printing and prototyping services.
Tandem
Consumer
jnMechanics [Bangkok, 2010]: jnMechanics designs and manufactures multi-purpose drones for consumer and
military applications. Its jDrones line of drones is made for consumer use. Its jD-Tactical line of UAV systems for
military use include medium to large UAVs and ground control stations. The company also builds custom aerial,
ground and surface unmanned vehicles under the product line jd-UAS for use in commercial and security
applications.
Consumer
UDIRC Toys Industry Co. [Shantou, 2010]: UDIRC designs and manufactures RC unmanned aerial vehicles, and
other RC toy vehicles for using on water surfaces and on the ground. Its drone portfolio consists of quadcopters
and hexacopters. It also offers FPV variants of these drones.
Consumer
Align [Taichung, 1997]: Align builds unmanned helicopters and quadcopters for consumer hobby flying and
racing purposes. It manufactures a large number of models and variants, and also sells accessories on its online
store. It also builds other products such as vacuum cleaners (for domestic use), power table feed (for industrial
machining usage), as well as a 3D VR head-mounted device (HMD).
Hardware Parts &
Peripherals
Counter-Drone
Systems

Consumer
Speedwolf [Shenzhen, 2013]: Speedwolf manufactures drones for consumer photography and videography use.
It builds its quadcopters under the brand name of Vajra and offers multiple variants based on differing control
and payloads, including a fishing variant, and a racing drone. It is also in the process of designing a foldable FPV
drone under the name DRBOX2.
Consumer
SwellPro Technology [Shenzhen, 2011]: SwellPro manufactures a number of waterproof drones that are
optimized for working just over the surface of water bodies. These drones, called Splash Drones, are aimed at
fishermen, water sportspersons and ocean and marine scientists. SwellPro also manufactures a camera called
the Zero camera for use on its Splash Drones. The company also sells accessories for its drones from an online
store. Its products are also sold on its sister company, FPV Factory's website.
Consumer
FPV Factory [Shenzhen, 2010]: FPV Factory manufactures consumer drones for photography purposes. FPV
Factory sells the SwellPro line of drones are all waterproof and are aimed at fishermen, water sportspersons,
ocean scientists etc. The company sells drones in both assembled condition and in DIY kits. It also sells drone
parts and accessories.
Consumer
Gaui [Taipei, 2007]: Gaui is a UAV manufacturer that designs and manufactures a large range of unmanned
systems. It also sells hardware parts and peripherals for UAVs online. Gaui manufactures both unmanned
helicopters (under the Gaui and Gaui GPower brands) and multi-rotor light drones (under the Gaui MRT brand).
These drones can be ordered in DIY form and assembled by users as well.
Consumer
Turbo Ace [Orange County, 2010]: Turbo Ace manufactures UAVs and UAV parts. It designs and manufactures a
number of multicopters. Its flagship drone, Matrix, is a quadcopter and is sold in a number of variants. It also
builds one hexacopter and one octocopter each under the names of Infinity and Cinewing. The Infinity series is
optimized for heavy payloads. The company also manufactures and sells UAV parts and accessories including
gimbals.
Hardware Parts &
Peripherals
Counter-Drone
Systems

Consumer
Powervision [Beijing, 2015]: Powervision is a manufacturer of drones for photography and videography
purposes. Its portfolio includes both fixed-wing (PowerEye) and rotor-lifted (PowerCopter, PowerQuad I and
PowerQuad II) drones. It also manufactures an unmanned ground vehicle called PowerRobot. The company also
builds a photography and videography quadcopter called the PowerEgg for indoor usage. The quadcopter is very
small and can be folded into a highly portable egg shape. Powervision was founded by Zheng Weifeng.
Consumer
Freebird Flight [Westport, 2014]: Freebird Flight is a UAV manufacturer that builds a drone called Freebird One
for consumer and commercial use. Its airframe, SurroundFrame, is 3D-printed, and according to Freebird Flight,
is structurally strong and safe. The Freebird One is a large quadcopter and can carry a payload of up to 20 lbs.
Consumer
Eighty Nine Robotics [Evanston, 2014]: EightyNine Robotics wants to build a distantly controlled drone which
can be used to monitor pets at home. The firm is currently based out of NorthWestern University Garage
Accelerator. The quadcopter drone has been designed to be managed from a mobile phone app and provide
video feed of the surroundings over the internet.
Consumer
Leisure Robotics [ , 2014]: Leisure Robotics develops and market quadcopter drones named AthleteDrone
which can be used for training of athletes. The unique algorithm on the drone allows it to fly on a predefined
route while varying its pace to mimic a runner's movement. The drone moves alongside an athlete and helps
them train as it leads the runner. The drone keeps track of the runner with a hand held tracker. The firm has
held events where they provide prototypes of these drones to athletes for practise.
Consumer
Ascent AeroSystems [Newtown, 2014]: Ascent AeroSystems develops and manufactures small unmanned aerial
vehicles. Developed a unique coaxial vehicle configuration that is more portable, more durable and simpler to
operate than typical multi-rotor designs. It is a highly scalable platform and ideally suited for recreational,
professional, commercial and military applications.
Hardware Parts &
Peripherals
Counter-Drone
Systems

Consumer
Cheerson Hobby [Shenzhen, 2003]: Cheerson Hobby is a professional remote control toys and drones
manufacturer. They have been researching, designing and manufacturing RC toys since 2003 under the name of
Shantou SLH Toy Factory. In 2011, they restructured and became the Guangdong Cheerson Hobby Technology
Company Limited. They appear to have a good global reputation and currently export their products all over the
world. Cheerson drones include the CX-10, the CX-20 Auto-Pathfinder and the CX-30W. However, the company
is not limited to quadcopters. They also produce RC helicopters and planes, although their focus is shifting more
toward multicopter toys.The company and their 13,000 square foot manufacturing facility are located in
Guangdong, China.
Consumer
xCraft [Sandpoint, 2013]: xCraft has developed the X PlusOne UAV. A hybrid drone that combines both
stabilized hover and fast forward flight. Also developed PhoneDrone Ethos, a remarkable device that
smartphones wings, allowing user to deploy iPhone or Android phone as an autonomous aerial camera. They
have leveraged sensor, processor, and wireless capability of smartphone to make it a powerful, cloud-connected
aerial vehicle.
Consumer
AirButlr [Ypres, 2014]: AirButlr is an autonomous flying drone for indoor applications. It automatically cleans
windows and keeps grass looking neat and tidy by using various AirButlr applications. The lawn mowing
application and window cleaning application are hold in the base station which is a small box where AirButlr can
be found in his state of rest or when it's charging. The AirButlr will inspect the house for dirt on a regular
basis. When a housekeeping command was given the base station will automatically mount the right application
on the AirButlr. The AirButlr will transport the right application to the right spot for cleaning it.
Consumer
Prodrone Technology [Shenzhen, 2015]: Prodrone is developing Byrd, a portable, foldable quadcopter with
removal 3-axis camera gimbal and ground control station. The drone sized as an ipad when folded but is 4
inches thick & the whole system weighs about 4 pounds including removable 7,000mAh battery which can reach
up to 30 minutes of flight (depending up on flying speed & wind conditions). The product is supposed to be out
in November 2015 for preorders. Its standard version is priced at $950 & advanced version at $1060. Priced at
$1,400, the premium version includes a 4K-resolution camera with a 3-axis gimbal for image stabilization that
can be swapped for an infrared camera, a GoPro-ready gimbal or future add-ons.
Hardware Parts &
Peripherals
Counter-Drone
Systems

Consumer
Walkera [Guangzhou, 1994]: Walkera involves in research & development, manufacturing & marketing of
consumer drones. They have designed a variety of quadcopters for photography and FPV purposes. Products
includes Scout X4 FPV, a lightweight, little & efficient quadcopter; Runner 250, a GPS based racing quadcopter;
and many other entertainment and hobbyist drones.
Consumer
Erle Robotics [Alava, 2014]: Erle Robotics is developing artificial brains for robots and drones based on Linux.
These brains build intelligence using the Robot Operating System (ROS) and have access to a cloud-based app
store for robots and drones. Developed Erle-spider, a low cost robot and drone platforms developed to help in
the process of learning, research and development of new ideas; and Erle-Copter, a Ubuntu Core powered
drone along with SDK to develop apps to control it.
Techfounders
Consumer
Hubsan [Shenzhen, 2010]: Shenzhen Hubsan Technology is engaged in research and development, production
and sale & sales service for hobbies and toys. Designs and manufactures consumer toys products like,
helicopters, planes & Quad copters with auto-pilot capabilities, including the NANO Q4 and HUBSAN FPV X4,
marketed as two of the worlds smallest quadcopters.
Consumer
ShenZhen Idea-Fly [Shenzhen, 2011]: ShenZhen Idea-Fly specializes in the R&D, manufacture, and sales of
multi-rotor aircraft. Manufactures commercial and recreational unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) for aerial
photography and videography. Developed several multi-rotor products like IFLY-4, IFLY-4S, Mars-550, Apollo,
Hero-550 & Storm-800. Also designed flight controller IFLY-V4M.
Consumer
Ebotic [Palo Alto, 2015]: Ebotic, a personal flying robotics company, developing a drone that performs tasks
autonomously indoors and outdoors via voice commands. It contains sensors like a camera, radar, microphone,
GPS, and actuators. Also provides easy-to-use APIs for obstacle avoidance, indoor mappings and self-localization
for developers.
Hardware Parts &
Peripherals
Counter-Drone
Systems

Consumer
Emelody Worldwide [Atlanta, 2014]: Emelody Worldwide, a technical consulting and innovation company
contains two divisions entitled Emelody Research Group and Emelody Inspirations Group. Emelody Inspirations
Group maintains and supports the development of a radical next generation UAV aircraft, â€œVindicatoreâ€•,
which claims to differ from the existing technologies and having advanced aerodynamics.
Consumer
Manna [Stanford, 2015]: Manna is building an intelligent, personal drone that can do more than one
application. This drone receives commands interacting with smartphones and making that on the internet and
autonomous, instead of human-controlled, enables everyday people to use this technology.
Consumer
Flytrex [Tel Aviv, 2013]: Flytrex Sky manufactures drones and operates a platform for hobbyists and drone
enthusiast. Its flagship product, Flytrex Sky is a cloud connected drone controlled by Flytrex Sky Pilot app that
has auto pilot, auto-takeoff and landing, return to home and other features. All the flight data is stored in the
cloud and can be accessed through the web-site or mobile apps in real-time basis. The drone can be used for fun
activities, delivering goods and other purposes. The platform supports the control over 3G and optional
receiver/transmitter, FPV and GoPro ready and other features. Also the company manufactures Flytrex Core, a
complete flight tracker system and a number of hardware peripherals such as Controller, Battery etc.
Star Farm Ventures
Consumer
TechJect [Atlanta, 2011]: TechJet designed a Palm-sized robot 'Dragonfly' that flies like a bird and hovers like an
insect. Designed for aerial photography, advanced gaming, R&D and security. The unique feature of this drone is
that it not only hovers but also can glide for greater accuracy of movement. Research began on Dragon fly
through a grant of $1M from US Air Force. Raised more than $1.1M on Kickstarter in 2012 from more than 3k
backers.
Consumer - Photography
DJI [Shenzhen, 2006]: Dajiang Innovations (DJI) is a developer and manufacturer of camera based consumer
drones and its hardware peripherals. The product lines cover high-end UAV flight control system and ground
control system, professional aerial photography drone platform, commercial Gimbal system, as well as an
intelligent model aircraft products and high-precision control module. Main product line includes Phantom line
of camera based quadcopters. The company was valued at $8-10B during the latest round of funding.
$605M
Accel, Sequoia Capital, KPCB, New
Horizon Capital, GIC, New China Life
Insurance
Hardware Parts &
Peripherals
Counter-Drone
Systems

Yuneec [Shanghai, 1999]: Yuneec International manufactures manned & unmanned aircraft. It develops remote
controlled, ready-to-use out of the box, camera supported quadcopters & hexacopters. Manufactures over 1
million units a year, sold under the Blade, Parkzone, E-Flite, Firebird, Firebird XL and Q500 brands. Also provides
ground camera stabilization systems for cameras to record high quality action sports. Markets its manned
aircraft in America through GreenWing International. The company hold 50+ patents. The HQ is in Shanghai,
China. Has offices in Hong Kong, Los Angeles and Hamburg.
$60M Intel Capital
Zero Zero Robotics [Beijing, 2014]: Zero Zero Robotics is a consumer robotics company. Its first product is a
hovering drone camera that can follow subjects and take photos and videos. It uses two cameras for both
positioning and movement and for taking the photos. The rectangular shape of the drone allows it to be folded
and easily ported.
$25M
IDG ventures, ZhenFund, GSR
Ventures
Lily Robotics [San Francisco, 2013]: Lily is a throw and shoot camera mounted drone enabled with auto-follow
technology. It automatically follows and focuses the user without any controller needed. This water proof drone
can record videos at 1080p, slow motion with 720p and image captures 12MP. Started in the basement of UC
Berkeley robotics lab, where Henry and Antoine built the first prototype using a Raspberry Pi and an Arduino.
Supported by investors like Shana Fisher and SV Angel since 2014.
$15M
SV Angel, Spark Capital, Dorm Room
Fund, Slow Ventures, Steve Aoki,
Upside Partnership, CLI Ventures,
StartX
Flypro [Shenzhen, 2012]: Flypro is a smartwatch-controlled drone maker. The drone has an automatic-follow
function at 330 feet or 100m distance as well as a tracking photo shot function. The watch can control the drone
as it takes off or lands and adjust the flight speed. Based in Shenzhen, the company is involved advanced flight
control systems, visual positioning systems and sonar technology.
$12.5M Yihua Group
Nixie [Mountain View, 2014]: Wristband capable of transforming into quadcopter that flies, takes video and
photos. Currently in development. Winner of Intel's make it wearable challenge (prize money $500k). Currently
in active development.
$5M
Intel, Redpoint Ventures, AME Cloud
Ventures, Felicis Ventures, Tencent,
Playground Global
Hardware Parts &
Peripherals
Counter-Drone
Systems

iDrone [Salt Lake City, 2015]: iDrone is a stealth mode startup that designs and builds drones, chiefly for
consumer purposes.
$2.8M
Airdog [Palo Alto, 2013]: AirDog, a product of Helico Aerospace Industries is a fully autonomous personal 3D
printed action sports drone. AirDog is a small, foldable quadcopter, especially designed for video shooting action
sports with the GoPro camera. Users need to wear a wrist-strapped controller called AirLeash that the AirDog
will follow. It can take off and land automatically and uses gyro stabilisation technology to ensure the subject is
always in frame. Raised $1.37M on Kickstarter with a goal of $200K. Konstantin Othmer, Harry Cheung, Vinny
Lingham, Chris Hulls and Arthur Watson also participated in the Seed round.
$2.5M
Seraph Group, Imprimatur Capital,
FlyCap, IT-Farm, Base Ventures,
Carthona Capital, Zenstone Venture
Capital, Imprimatur Capital
Aheadx [Beijing, 2014]: Aheadx is a Chinese startup company that designs & manufactures consumer drones.
Their first product is Transdrone A4, which is named after its ability to fold up into something the size of an A4
piece of paper. This drone features 4000mAh capacity smart battery, auto follow module and comes with a
clamshell remote control. The company also sells parts and components to make drones. The company received
a seed funding of $2M by Avenue Capital in Aug, 2015
$2M AV Capital
Airmada Tech [Fremont, 2015]: Airmada Tech builds a drone for consumer photography use. It is a smartphone-
controlled drone and can be used both indoors and outdoors. Its waypoint-based navigation allows users to
create a pre-flight route and focus on controlling the camera during the flight.
Dorm Room Fund
FlightHigh [Moscow, 2015]: FlightHigh designs and builds drones for photography and videography applications.
Its six-rotor model is chiefly designed for use in amateur and low-budget commercial filming.. FlightHigh also
claims that it can be used for precision agriculture purposes. The company also offers MRO services.
Hardware Parts &
Peripherals
Counter-Drone
Systems

UP&GO [Miami, 2015]: Up&Go has developed a drone camera that features five professional camera
movements and follow it's user to take pictures and record videos. Camera comes with a small controller that
user wears in its arm. Up&Go uses two way radio signal and GPS locators in both camera and controller for
tracking purpose and maintaining communication between camera and controller. Up&Go has interchangeable
batteries and a carbon fiber frame. Raising money through their Indiegogo campaign
Staaker [Oslo, 2013]: Staaker designs and builds a consumer quadcopter drone of the same name. The Staaker
drone is an auto-follow drone that is meant for personal photography and videography use. It carries a 4K GoPro
camera and is aimed at the same adventurer market. The user needs to wear an armband that the Staaker
drone can then follow. The Staaker drone is scheduled for release in the third quarter of 2016.
EKEN [Hong Kong, 1997]: Eken manufactures cameras and drones for consumer use. It manufactures two
drones - Hawk V5 and Hawk V6 - for consumer photography and videography purposes. Both the drones are
hexacopters and come with a ground controller with a video downlink. The company builds a large series of
cameras as well.
X-Cam Technology Inc. [Shanghai, 2012]: X-Cam Technology Inc. builds drones and remote controlled vehicles
for use in consumer applications, chiefly photography and hobby flying. Its flagship brand is the Kongcopter
series of drones that are divided into PRO, KIT and STD drones. Its other two product lines are camera gimbals
and on-board electronics such as vibration detection modules, etc.
Tuffwing [Boerne, 2008]: Tuffwing manufactures drones for use in aerial mapping and monitoring applications.
Its drones are designed as flying wings made of EPP foam. Tuffwing manufactures two models of unmanned
aircraft - UAV Mapper (for aerial photography) and Tuffwing 32 (for hobby flying). The UAV Mapper works with
the Pixhawk autopilot.
Hardware Parts &
Peripherals
Counter-Drone
Systems

Snelflight [Durham, 1998]: Snelflight builds small drones for consumer photography and hobby flying purposes,
as well as commercial applications. It builds two drones - the Ghost and the QuadPod - on its Hoverfly
quadcopter platform. The company also sells accessories on its online store.
Skye Intelligence [Xian, 2015]: Skye Intelligence is a developer of UAV drones which can be used for
photography. Some of its features include high precision multiloop automatic tracking system, editing tools,
flight control using a mobile application etc. It claims to have a flight time of about 22 minutes and has a GPS
system to track its movement. It is a part of Roobo.
Shenzhen Zero UAV Tech [Shenzhen, 2002]: Shenzhen Zero UAV Tech (Xiro) is a drone company founded by
Shenzhen Rapoo Technology Co. and Beijing Zero UAV Tech. Xiro manufactures UAVs for consumer use. Its
product portfolio includes Xplorer, Xplorer 2, Xplorer Mini and Xplorer Extreme. It also manufactures a hand-
held gimbal called Xplorer Gimbal. Xiro sells its products in North America through Hobbico. Its chief
applications are in consumer photography and videography.
Pocket Drone [Riga, 2015]: Pocket Drone builds a consumer drone for personal photography. Its Kronos drone is
paired with a smartphone and can follow the smartphone. It is very small and can be folded, making it very
portable, and includes a number of smartphone-connected features such as automatic syncing of all photos. It
also has a smile-tracker that ensures that the camera clicks photos when a smile is detected in the field of view.
Droneex [Monterrey, 2015]: Droneex builds unmanned aerial vehicles for consumer use. It currently builds a
quadcopter called Aviary-i4. Droneex claims that the Aviary-i4 is well-suited to other photography applications,
such as aerial inspections, as well. It is also working on a racing quadcopter called Razer-X8.
Hardware Parts &
Peripherals
Counter-Drone
Systems

Smart Drones [Paris, 2013]: Smart Drones builds eponymous drones for consumer use. Its chief application is in
photography and filming. Other applications include commercial applications such as disaster assessments,
mapping, inspection, etc. Its Smart Drone 4 can be customized for different cameras and can be controlled via
mobile applications as well.
Atlas Aerospace [Jerusalem, 2015]: Atlas Aerospace builds a copter called the Erida Smartcopter. It is built for
consumer purposes and is specialized for working in very cold weather. Its positioning system is LIDAR-based. It
can be controlled by both an RC controller and a mobile application, and can be used as an FPV drone.
Snitch [Moscow, 2015]: Snitch manufactures an eponymous hovering camera called Snitch. It is exclusively
aimed for consumer use and has a very small range. It levitates and hovers using propellers that are contained
within the spherical structure. The camera is fitted in a gimbal to provide image stabilization. The device can be
controlled by an application running on a smartphone or tablet.
Autel Robotics [Bothell, 2014]: Autel Robotics builds UAVs for aerial photography and video capture. The
company's product portfolio includes the X-Star range of quadcopters (X-Star, X-Star Go and X-Star Premium). It
plans to launch the Kestrel fixed-wing VTOL UAV in March 2017 for payload delivery and crop monitoring.
Wingsland [Shenzhen, 2014]: Shenzen WINGSLAND Technology Co., Ltd. is a consumer drone manufacturer.
Claims to conduct R&D in recreational, reconnaissance and commercial UAVs. Currently, portfolio includes only
photography and video capture quadcopters - K3, M5 and Minivet. Also manufactures a handheld gimbal called
Vipro.
Hardware Parts &
Peripherals
Counter-Drone
Systems

ONAGOfly [Delaware City, 2013]: ONAGOFly is a nano drone which is palm sized and can be used for taking
recreational photography from a different perspective. The advantage that the drone brings is that it is
extremely handy and packed with a 15MP sensor which makes for clear shots. The drone is packed with IR
technology for obstacle avoidance and has GPS based navigation. The drone can be controlled by the OnagoFly
App over WiFi for 66m. The firm was able to raise $950K on IndieGoGo platform against a planned number of
150K. The drone will be out for delivery by Feb 2016.
Fleye [Liege, 2014]: Fleye is the first consumer friendly flying camera having features such as 360 panorama,
people tracker, follow-me mode & more. With original form factor (spherical form) and smart control software
makes Fleye safe, robust and extremely easy to use. No piloting skills needed to take awesome aerial
photography and video as this robot is autonomous and can be controlled by a smartphone app. Also provides
APIs and SDK for development of its app.
Extreme Fliers [London, 2007]: Extreme Fliers designs, develops and manufactures quirky and innovative toys.
Products include Micro Drone quadcopter, Robocopter and Terror Wasp which use advanced electronics and
sensors. Developed Micro Drone, a tiny flying drone for live streaming of videos in HD quality.The company
raised $2.7M for its Micro Drone 3.0, through Indiegogo, a global crowdfunding platform.
Easy Aerial [New York City, 2014]: Easy Drone is an advanced, modular quadcopter designed for videographers
that need quick, easy and affordable aerial shots. Is a plug-and-play aerial filming platform, incredibly compact
and easy to assemble. Has a flight time of 45mins. Raised $21k througha campaign on Kickstarter.
Vantage Robotics [San Francisco, 2013]: Vantage Robotics has designed a fold-able & collision tolerant quad-
copter drone with 4k camera controlled by smart phone. This drone is capable of flying for 20 mins with a top
speed of 30 mph and automatically tracks user. Comes with features like auto sequences (preset features for
professional photographic shots), auto ground avoidance, make sure to return back when battery is about to
end. The product is available for pre-order on their website.
Ruvento Ventures
Hardware Parts &
Peripherals
Counter-Drone
Systems

Seraphim [San Diego, 2014]: Seraphim is a consumer robotics company that has developed Seraph, a camera
drone for aerial footage with a flight time of 45 minutes. It is having active object avoidance and intuitive design
that produces non-shaky footage. It is a good product for skiers, snowboarders, mountain bikers, and other
adventure sports enthusiasts.
Fotokite [Zurich, 2014]: Fotokite has designed and is ready to manufacture Fotokite Phi, a foldable drone-kite
for GoPro Hero cameras that offers video recording at various angles and can be easily controlled by hand
gestures. Enabled with Gesture flight control, this drone is easily portable and have safe and secure propellers.
Raised $115K in 2 days in a campaign for $300K target in a month.
Orkos Capital
DreamQii [Toronto, 2012]: DreamQii has developed drones that can fly together in a coordinated 'swarm', all
controlled through a single mobile device. DreamQiiâ€™s PlexiDrone is specifically aimed at photographers and
filmmakers. The company boasts that users can fly up to 30 drones at once using the PlexiHub, a Bluetooth
device that acts like a router between the app and aircraft. Raised $2.26M in pre-orders on IndieGoGo, a global
crowdfunding platform.
Carbon Flyer [Columbus, 2014]: The Carbon Flyer has been designed and engineered by Trident Design LLC. The
Carbon Flyer is an all carbon fiber personal drone, controlled by Bluetooth, with an onboard video camera.
Carbon Flyer airframe is assembled using carbon nanotube enhanced epoxy which creates bonds stronger than
steel welds. Raised $330k for pre orders on IndieGoGo.
Zano [Swansea, 2014]: Zano is an ultra-portable, personal aerial photography and video capture drone. The size
is small enough to fit in the palm of a hand and has an autopilot system insalled. Zano connects directly to smart
phone via onboard WiFi and enables user to instantly begin capturing through the onboard camera system.
Raised $2.64M in pre orders on Kickstarter, a crowdfunding platform.
Hardware Parts &
Peripherals
Counter-Drone
Systems

Mota [San Jose, 1999]: Mota is a wearable and consumer electronics manufacturing company. Its products
include 3D printers, Drones, Smart watches, Smart Glass, Battery cases and Power Banks. Mota's 3D printer is a
low-end, low cost FDM 3D printer which supports PLA and ABS with a maximum print size of 6.5 x 6.1 x 6.1
inches. MOTA SmartWatch G2 Lite is a wearable device with the ability to pair with both iOS and Android
devices. The SmartWatch integrates with Siri and Google Now. The watch can be used to easily setup
appointments, send emails, check the weather, etc. Works with Bluetooth version 3.0 and has a charging time of
2-3 hours. A 3D Interactive Glass, MOTA SmartGlass, is currently under development. Features include voice
dial, data record, remote control camera etc. Also working on a Drone called MOTA Drone Hawk, which is a
Quadcopter with a Cx20 AUTO-Pathfinder GPS guidance and Stability Mode on board and a flight time of 15
minutes and 2700 mAh Power. Its another drone product is MOTA iOS Helicopter, which can be controlled with
the user's iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch. Provides a free app which allows the user to easily dictate the
helicopterâ€™s flight path from all directions. Also manufactures Battery Cases for iPhone and Samsung mobiles
and Universal Power Banks like Power Block, Power Stick and Card Charger.
AirDroids [Washington D.C., 2013]: AirDroids designs and manufactures drone hardware and software for the
consumer and commercial marketplace. The Pocket Drone is the first product from AirDroids. It is a heavy-lift
microcopter capable of lifting a HD action sports camera high into the air but folds up smaller than the footprint
of a 7in tablet. It also has lots of advanced features found in high end devices but retails for less than $500. The
company leadership are also the founders of the Drone User Group Network, the largest community based
organization in the U.S. focused on making UAV and autonomous flight technology available to everyone. The
Director of Engineering is a mechanical engineer and a patent attorney. They have an in-house drone design lab
and a full machine and prototyping shop (including desktop injection molding machines, CNC mills and 3D
printers). Raised $930k on kickstarter for pocket drone pre-orders in March 2014.
Vektor [San Francisco, 2014]: Stealth mode company. Vektor produces micro-drones which can be used for
personal everyday use. The drone has autonomous control with no flight training required on the part of the
user. Users can also post footage via Vektorâ€™s app. Founding team is from UPenn and UC Santa Barbara.
Hardware Parts &
Peripherals
Counter-Drone
Systems

Squadrone System [Palo Alto, 2014]: Hexo+, a product of Squadrone System, is an intelligent drone that follows
and films the user autonomously. The copter communicates with the user's iOS or Android smartphone using
the MAVLink protocol. Hexo+ provides a mobile app to select the droneâ€™s starting position and frame the
shot it should take. Users can specify from which angle the drone should shoot and how far away it should hover
from its subject. As the subject moves, the drone moves with them to provide a continuous shot. The drone
employs trajectory anticipation algorithms in order to make sure that the drone will be able to smartly predict
the user's path and won't be lagging behind. Raised $762k on Kickstarter till date of an initial goal of $50k.
Consumer - Gaming
Drone Racing League [New York City, 2015]: Drone racing is a fun and exciting sport in which quadcopter
drones fly around a pre-set 3 dimensional course. Pilots control the drones via remote controls, wearing FPV
(first person view) goggles to steer from the droneâ€™s point of view. The company also builds the racing
drones, all to the same specifications.Those specifications change from race to race to keep things interesting.
So the pilots do not need to worry about their vehicles, making the race videos more exciting. The targeting
audience of the Drone Racing League is video-game players and other technology-oriented enthusiasts. The
League intends to make money through sponsorship, media and ticket sales.
$7.6M
Lux Capital, Hearst Communications,
RSE Ventures, CAA Ventures, Basset
Investment, Lerer Hippeau Ventures
Consumer - Gaming
QFO [Minneapolis, 2010]: QFO Labs develops, manufactures and sells high tech gaming drones. Products
include Quad Fighter, a quad-copter designed to fly in small indoor areas, having rugged, lightweight
construction, four moving parts and a design flipped upside-down from the conventional designs to increase the
efficiency. Also provide Mimix, a tilt based controller for Quad Fighter. By tilting the controller forward, back,
left or right its maneuverability can be controlled. The complete set is available at $99.99 from their website.
$200k
Consumer - Gaming
TobyRich [Bremen, 2012]: TobyRich builds bluetooth-connected, smartphone-controlled drones for gaming
purposes. Its product range includes three fixed-wing models - SmartPlane, tobyrich.vegas and tobyrich.tokyo -
and a quadcopter called X-Spy Nano. The company also sells its BluetoothSmart board for integrating with
homemade hobbyist drones.
Hardware Parts &
Peripherals
Counter-Drone
Systems

Consumer - Gaming
DragonFly Racing Drones [Avon Park, 2015]: DragonFly Racing Drones designs and builds drones and airframes
for racing purposes, chiefly the Black Darter drone. It also sells drones made by other manufacturers on its
online store. In addition, the company sells drone parts and accessories, such as propeller blades, flight
controllers, FPV goggles, etc on its online store.
Consumer - Gaming
Thrust UAV [Boise, 2014]: Thrust-UAV is a manufacturer of racing drones. Its first product is a quadcopter called
the Riot 250R Pro. The Riot 250R is optimized for FPV racing with a reinforced undercarriage and a powerful
integrated flight system. It also sells drone components and airframes.
Consumer - Gaming
Rotor X [Sydney, 2014]: RotorX Racing manufactures consumer UAVs primarily for racing use. RotorX specializes
in manufacturing very small drones. It builds two drones - the six-rotor RX155 Raiju and the four-rotor RX122
Atom. The Atom comes in two DIY variants, with differing expected assembly times. RotorX also sells drone
parts for its two drones.
Consumer - Gaming
Mobus Drones [Madrid, 2015]: Mobus Drones develops two models of drones - FPV Vesta280 and Lytta250.
The Vesta280 drone has been geared towards racing and can reach speeds of up to 100kmph. The drone also
comes with a head gear which can be used as a VR kit to view the first person account of the drone flight. The
Lytta 250 drone is targeted towards beginners and comes in the option of a kit which can be assembled to learn
how the drone works.
Consumer - Gaming
Skyrocket Toys [Los Angeles, 2010]: Skyrocket specializes in building original, innovation driven, television
advertised toy brands. Provide Sky Viper brand of drones which includes low cost, multi-copter RC drones for
indoor & outdoor entertainment & gaming. Also develops and manufactures OEM products for top video game
and other consumer products companies.
Hardware Parts &
Peripherals
Counter-Drone
Systems

Consumer - Gaming
Axis Drones [Macedon, 2015]: Axis Drones specializes in beginner friendly quadcopters for first time pilots and
kids interested in learning the mechanics of quadcopter and drone flight. Products include small UAVs like,
Wallet drone, Turbo-X drone, Nano drone & Aerius. Axis Drones is a division of Morrison Innovations, LLC.
Consumer - Gaming
Syma Toys [Guangdong, 2005]: Syma Toys is consumer drones manufacturer based in China. Manufactures a X-
series of quadcopters & S- series of mini-helicopters.
Consumer - Gaming
B Go Beyond [London, 2015]: Vitenzo designed a remote controlled hybrid car-helicopter with a patent pending
design. 'B' is vehicle (regular four-wheeled RC) capable of driving across difficult terrain using its large rear drive
wheels. When obstacles become too big, it simply take-off and fly over them using four propellers that are
housed within its wheels. These propellers can generate enough lift to turn the B into a quadrocopter. Designed
by Witek Mielniczek, a PhD student at University of Southampton, has previously worked on a DARPA-contest-
winning HALO Unmanned Aerial Vehicle. Aims to raise $77k through a campaign on Indiegogo, a global
crowdfunding platform. First vehicles are estimated to start shipping in December, 2015 after the success of the
campaign.
Consumer - DIY Kits
PowerUp Toys [Miami, 2011]: PowerUp Toys builds a small clip-on module for attaching to paper planes for
taking videos and sending them via a data downlink in real time. It allows users to view the on-board camera's
feed in FPV and control the plane's movement by using a VR headset such as Google Cardboard. The company
also runs a social media platform for sharing ideas for using PowerUp Toys.
$1M
Hardware Parts &
Peripherals
Counter-Drone
Systems

Consumer - DIY Kits
Flexbot [Los Angeles, 2012]: Flexbot designs and manufactures quadrotor which can be controlled using a
smartphone. The quadcopter has an Acc mode which uses the phone or tabletâ€™s gravity sensor to steer the
copter just by tilting the mobile device. The phone communicates with the copter using Bluetooth 4, which gives
a range of up to 50 meters. Users can customize their 3D printed shell by choosing from one of 3 shell designs
and choosing a combination of colors for the different pieces of the shell. The quadcopter has another mode:
Autopilot which does a job of stabilizing the copter in flight, and it is open-source and Arduino based. Raised
$0.5M on Kickstarter in Oct 2013.
$25k HAX, SOSV
Consumer - DIY Kits
Giingo Labs [Tokyo, 2015]: Giingo Labs provides a mini-drone development platform. It development kit - called
the Giingo Q-Shield - includes a basic PCB with motor controls, sensors, power management modules and a
wireless connection board with a control module. It also includes a smartphone application that is configured
with the control module.
Consumer - DIY Kits
XHOVER [ , 2013]: Xhover manufactures drone airframes and other accessories for DIY drone building purposes.
It sells both own and third-party accessories and these including electronic speed controllers (ESCs), flight
controllers and FPV equipment, as well as motors, propellers and even connecting wires.
Consumer - DIY Kits
PiCopter [London, 2016]: PiCopter designs and sells DIY kits for drones. It allows customers to build their own
drones from the DIY kit (and modify the base design using spare parts that can be 3D printed or bought locally),
code software for controlling the drone on the included Raspberry PI and learn how to fly these drones.
Consumer - DIY Kits
PIRIYEV Aero [Copenhagen, 2015]: Small fully autonomous airplane which is customizable. The drone provides
a SDK for developers to write their own applications. The hardware is modular as well and allows direct
connection with third party hardware. It is sold as a development platform for hobbyists and other drone
manufacturers. It launched an unsuccessful kickstarter campaign in 2015. Selected to represent Azerbaijan in
Seedstars world final in Feb 2016.
Hardware Parts &
Peripherals
Counter-Drone
Systems

Consumer - DIY Kits
Phenox Lab [Tokyo, 2014]: Phenox Labs is a startup by two student founders from University of Tokyo, who
have developed a palm sized drone which can fly autonomously. The duo have, in the process, created a
platform which can be used for developing flying apps. The drone can be effectively controlled by voice and
hand gestures. It also supports proograming by Linux. They have been able to raise $23K over Kickstarter
campaign.
Consumer - DIY Kits
Flone [Barcelona, 2013]: Flone is a open source Drone platform for flying smartphones in sky to have aerial
images. This is done using a small wooden frame that uses batteries to power 4 propellers, the Flone is fully
ready to make smartphone fly. All user has to do is hook it up to the wooden apparatus, and then heâ€™ll need
to use another smartphone to control the Flone once itâ€™s in flight. Also provides an intuitive app, Flight App,
along with it to control drone.
Consumer - DIY Kits
Game of Drones [Scottsdale, 2011]: Game of Drones provides action sports airframe DIY kit that includes a
frame, all other parts for developing a drone, and easy-to-follow, step-by-step instructions to build a bind-and-
fly 'Hiro' drone. It is easy to assemble, have high-quality and durable components like RCManchild motors and
ESCs and KK 2.0 HC flight board.
Consumer - DIY Kits
Skyworks Aerial Sys [Las Vegas, 2014]: Skyworks Aerial Systems is a hardware development company for small
and adaptable unmanned aerial systems. Their product Qua.R.K is capable of delivering a variety of solutions to
both civil and commercial entities. Qua.R.K multi-rotor copter families are small and versatile. They are
designed to adapt to numerous applications including indoor, underground, and/or hazardous flights. Skyworks'
Ground Control station is built on maximizing user experience with an enhanced graphics interface, industrial
design and inter active manual. During flight, autonomous data collection is running in the back-end for
diagnostics while an intuitive dashboard displays real-time sensor and telemetry data. Plug & Operate Devices
(PODs) enable the Qua.R.K suite to undertake a variety of applications. Open software architecture and robust
APIs allow for easy interfacing of software and algorithms for any POD. As of March 2015, they are taking pre
orders on their website.
Hardware Parts &
Peripherals
Counter-Drone
Systems

Consumer - FPV
Nine Eagles [Hastings, 2006]: Nine Eagles designs and manufactures drones for consumer use. Its Galaxy Visitor
line of drones (Models 2, 3, 6 and 7) are all quadcopters designed for FPV hobby flying and consumer
photography. It also builds toy helicopters and toy fixed-wing planes. Nine Eagles also sells third-party drones
and drone accessories on its online store.
Consumer - FPV
RangeVideo [Miami, 2006]: RangeVideo builds wireless video systems, including a flagship FPV headset called
HeadPlay. It also builds a fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicle called RVJet for hobby flying in FPV mode.
RangeVideo also builds an autopilot and telemetry system called RVOSD. The company also sells a number of
3rd-party accessories for drones including propellers, ESCs, etc.
Consumer - FPV
Foxtech [Tianjin, 2013]: Foxtech designs, builds and sells drones and drone hardware parts and accessories,
chiefly FPV video receivers, goggles, etc. It also sells third party drone accessories and hardware parts on its
online store. Its drones include the Devourer D130 quadcopter, the A4 quadcopter and the Kraken K130
octocopter. Foxtech's chief customers are hobbyists.
Consumer - FPV
Dromida RC [Champaign, 2013]: Dromida manufactures and sells small drones and other radio-controlled
vehicles. Dromida builds quadcopters under the names Ominus, Kodo, Vista and Verso. The Ominus and Vista
drones both have FPV versions as well. The camera on these FPV versions can be controlled by a mobile
application called FPVCam.
Consumer - FPV
Sky-Hero [Brussels, 2012]: Sky-Hero designs and manufactures multirotor consumer drones that made of
carbon fiber material. Products includes a tricopter, Spy; quadcopters, Anakin, Little Spyder & Spyder; &
hexacopters, Spyder6 & Little Six. These drones are fast & safe for the purpose of FPV racing & carrying
payloads.
Hardware Parts &
Peripherals
Counter-Drone
Systems

Consumer - FPV
FLYBi [Hexham, 2014]: Advanced Robotix Corp. has designed a flying drone, FLYBi, that comes with a set of
Virtual Reality goggles. These head-tracking goggles provide a direct control to user to look around using the HD
camera installed at the base of drone. This drones is available is four different colors, have features like obstacle
detection and avoidance, auto return and collision tolerance. It carrying case includes its controller and an extra-
pair of batteries. Raised $40k on a campaign goal of $35k on Indiegogo (a global crowdfunding platform) with 13
days remaining in the campaign deadline.
Commercial
Kespry [Menlo Park, 2013]: Kespry designs and builds highly reliable drone systems for commercial
applications. To achieve high standards of safety, productivity, and reliability, Kespry controls the design of each
critical component. This attention to integrated design and reliability provides superior efficiencies and
accelerates the delivery of advanced functionality. John Vrionis from LSVP joined Kespry as a board member.
$26M Lightspeed Venture Partners, DCM
Commercial
Pulse Aerospace LLC [Lawrence, 2011]: Pulse Aerospace designs and manufactures a helicopter UAS called
Vapor and a flight control system call wePilot. it also offers autopilot integration services. The UAS consists of a
Vapor drone with a controller and a ground control station. The Vapor UAS is sold as a package that also
includes a carrying case, a batter station and multiple spare parts and extra batteries. The Vapor drone is sold in
two sizes - the Vapor 35 (payload up to 5 lbs.) and the Vapor 55 (payload up to 10 lbs.). The Vapor UAS is
designed for use in multiple applications (surveillance and commercial) and specific payload packages can be
bought. The wePilot flight control system includes both a hardware module and supporting software for
controlling drones.
$21.22M
Commercial
XAircraft [Guangzhou, 2013]: XAircraft is a multi-rotor design and manufacturing company hailing from China
with a global footprint of International Distributors. Specialises in the design and development of all sized multi-
rotor equipment for various types of applications from commercial to general. Offers XPlanet, an agriculture
UAV system with ground control task pad & handheld taskmapper. And XMission, a multi-rotor UAV system,
features weatherproof aerial platform, quick release smart payload modules, Android based all-in-one ground
control task pad and XAirkey flight information system (FIS).
$20M Chengwei Capital
Hardware Parts &
Peripherals
Counter-Drone
Systems

Commercial
Delair-Tech [Toulouse, 2011]: Delair-Tech designs, manufactures and commercialises long endurance mini-
drones with a fixed wing. The company's products include Big Map, Crop Map, Emergency Line and Environment
Line. The company also develops payloads and ground control systems used in the extraction of data and image
sensing. Its UAVs are used in the domains of industrial surveillance, environmental survey and aerial
photography.
$18.31M Bpifrance, andromede
Commercial
Stork [San Francisco, 2011]: Stork (formerly known as Romotive) designs and sells a personal robot powered by
user's smartphone. The robot offers Remote 2-way telepresence, Autonomous navigation and Facial
recognition. Signed a production contract with an Asian manufacturer that will help the company scale up its
output dramatically. Offers an open SDK for developer applications. Raised $170k for pre orders on Kickstarter.
Currently enagaed in developing drones for first reponder & emergency purposes. The company was formerly
known as Romotive.
$12.1M
Sequoia Capital, Lerer Hippeau
Ventures, SV Angel, Felicis Ventures,
CrunchFund, BoxGroup, Morado
Ventures, VegasTechFund, PivotNorth
Capital, PALgenesis, Klein Venture
Partners, Visionnaire Ventures, Lerer
Hippeau Ventures, VTF Capital
Commercial
TRACE Intelligent Systems [Venice, 2014]: Developed TRACErl a visually intelligent camera that is capable of
following its owner and live stream captured footage using proprietary video-as-a-sensor technology. The videos
are captured in HD quality and streamed live on their website. They have acquired Draganfly which makes UAV
aircraft and aerial video systems using drones. They have partnered with ImmerVision which develops
technology for 360-degree panoramic imaging, .
$9.5M
Salman Partners,
businessinstincts.com
Commercial
PRENAV [San Carlos, 2014]: PreNav developing a system that can automatically fly a drone within centimeters
of a structure, allowing for close inspection of it by people who arenâ€™t expert pilots. PreNav uses a robot on
the ground to scan and map an area, including vertical structures that need to be inspected. The ground robot
guides a proprietary PreNav drone through a precise route. This system uses Lidar, laser-based sensors, to map
an area and determine a flight path. PreNav unlocks new uses for drones by offering automated, repeatable
flight paths. A few of the applications include: Motion control for aerial cinematographers; Inspections of
structures like smokestacks, solar panels, and wind turbines; Navigation of the last 50 meters in urban/suburban
environments for landing, delivery and recharging. Founders are Stanford University graduates. Incubated at
Prebacked accelerator. Investors include Pejman Mar Ventures, Drone.vc, Oculus VR co-founder Michael
Antonov and Toivo Annus.
$7.71M
Linden Mobile Ventures, Pejman Mar
Ventures, Drone.VC
Hardware Parts &
Peripherals
Counter-Drone
Systems

Commercial
Top Flight Technologies [Malden, 2014]: Top Flight offers application-specific, cost effective commercial
solutions of unmanned aircraft vehicles using the latest advanced technologies driving automation and safety.
Has a strong founding team of experienced entrepreneurs and technology expertise from MIT, the FAA,
Aerospace/aviation research, software product development and strategic partnerships in technology
manufacturing. Top Flight has designed an open-platform modular approach to building feature-rich UAV
solutions which includes hardware, software and services. Offers Airborg Series 800mm M4 Quad and 1000mm
M6 Hex multi-rotor service-class commercial drones. Raised $1.75M in seed round led by John Frankel from ff
Venture Capital.
$1.75M FF Venture Capital, Scrum Ventures
Commercial
HÃ©licÃ©o [Nantes, 2014]: HÃ©licÃ©o designs and builds drones and UAV systems. It builds a fixed-wing
drone called the FoXy which comes in Slim and Pro variants. It also manufactures multicopters, namely the FoX4
quadcopter and the FoX6 hexacopter. It also builds a processor unit called DroneBox. The DroneBox includes
autopilot modules, avionics and other flight control systems and can be used for controlling and conducting
flight planning for multiple drones, one at a time.
$1.7M Sequoia Fund
Commercial
Clear Flight Solutions [Enschede, 2012]: Clear Fight Solutions design and manufactures bird shaped drones
called Robird. The tech can be applied to industries, including agriculture, waste management, oil and gas, and
harbors. Completed a very successful trial at waste management site in Twente, which is one of the most
challenging environments.
$1.67M Cottonwood Technology Fund
Commercial
Aeronavics [Raglan, 2009]: Aeronavics Ltd is a manufacturer of advanced multi-rotor airframes and related
accessories. Their products are composite aerospace and industrial grade materials, with solutions for tiny
GoPro and FLIR thermal imaging equipment through to Hollywood grade â€œREDâ€•cameras.
$1.5M
Hardware Parts &
Peripherals
Counter-Drone
Systems

Commercial
Fly-n-Sense [Paris, 2008]: Fly-n-Sense designs and sells autonomous, multi purpose and operational UAV
Systems. Fly-n-Sense designs and sells compact and light UAV systems operating in autonomous or assisted
mode, via a control ground station. The company also integrates tailored airborne systems within existing
aircrafts (autopilot, video camera, acoustic and chemical sensors). The company's drones are used in Civil
Security operations, industrial inspection, precision agriculture, etc. Also a member of the Aerospace Valley
cluster and currently supported by EADS Development.
$1.2M
URGO (formerly VivaSantÃ©),
SECAPEM
Commercial
Vires Aero [Livermore, 2013]: Vires Aeronautics designs unmanned aerial vehicles(UAV) that utilize Active
Circulation Control (ACC) technology. Its patented design increases the lift capability of fixed-wing aircraft,
enabling faster takeoff and landing, increased payload capacity,extended range, and reduced fuel
consumption.Active Circulation Control (ACC) is a flow control technology that improves the lift of fixed-wing
aircraft by increasing the net circulation around the wing by energizing the boundary layer.Its product is suited
for a range of industries such as aeronautics, automobiles, submarines, ships, turbines etc.
$960K
Promus Ventures, Draper Associates,
VegasTechFund, Lemnos Labs
Commercial
Inova Drone [San Diego, 2014]: Inova Drone are developing drone systems that utilize advanced sensor
technology combined with powerful software to enhance user experience. Developed Inova One, an intelligent
and easy to use autonomous aerial system that is modular and design to be configurable for multiple
applications having a flight time of 50mins and payload capacity of 10 pounds. This is designed for firefighters
and other first responders working at public safety agencies. Powered by TechStars at the Qualcomm Robotics
Accelerator.
$120k Qualcomm, Techstars
Commercial
Altavian [Gainesville, 2011]: Altavian manufactures unmanned aircraft systems for precision data collection in
scientific and engineering applications. The company also provides data and deployment consulting services,
data processing and advanced imaging services. It offers its unmanned aircraft systems for agricultural use,
environmental surveillance, geomatics and mapping, and other commercial applications. Altavian is establishing
a network of Certified Training Providers who teach the way to safely conduct drone operations and also explain
the fundamentals of data acquisition and processing. Altavian also provides repairing services and ties up with
third party data providers to collect, process and deliver the data to the clients.
$23k
Dakota Venture Group, Florida
Institute For The Commercialization of
Public Research
Hardware Parts &
Peripherals
Counter-Drone
Systems

Commercial
Vinveli [Cedar Rapids, 2013]: Vinveli is a robotics & automation company providing solutions for agriculture,
riot control and farms. Products includes Aero series of UAVs, (shaped like mini-aeroplane); Vero series drones
(shaped like hexagon); Helio series of drones (shaped like mini-helicopters); these UAVs provides variable
payload capacity, versatile payload capacities, endurance speed and range. Provides agriculture drones for
pesticide sprays; riot control robots; wind-tower inspection drones. Founded by a team of University of Texas
grads.
$20k Iowa Startup Accelerator
Commercial
Mohyi Labs [Detroit, 2011]: Mohyi Labs is a product development company that is currently working on
building a non-fixed wing, bladeless drone. It has a vortex creation method (that it calls ducted counter-vortex
diffuser) that allows the drone to generate lift from manipulating the airflow around it without rotating blades.
The company also runs projects for developing other advanced technology products.
$18.02K
Michigan Economic Development
Corporation
Commercial
AEE Technology [Shenzhen, 2005]: AEE Technology operates two technology products i.e. sports cameras and
unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV). It initially established themselves as a modern wireless audio and video
transmission technology company and are claimed to be the pioneer in the creation of above categories. The
products are used for military operations, rescue operations, anti-terrorism, and extreme sports events etc.
Claims to have raised Series A round of funding from Shenzhen Venture Capital.
Shenzhen Capital Group
Commercial
AeroHawgle Ltd. [Chennai, 2016]: Aerohawgle is an aviation technology company that develops a weather-
proof sensor package called Generation-Z Stereo Camera Hawgle-i. It is also developing a voice-controlled drone
called SparrowHawk. The company also offers custom aviation design and consultancy services to clients.
Commercial
Avysys [Delhi, 2009]: Avysys is developing unmanned vehicle platform for movement across ground or in air.
The firm is part of Labpro Equipments which develops sensors and devices for physiological data measurement.
The company claims to build UAVs and UGVs for commercial and defense applications. The products for the firm
are currently under development.
Hardware Parts &
Peripherals
Counter-Drone
Systems

Tracxn Startup Research Drones Landscape, July 2016

Tracxn Startup Research Drones Landscape, July 2016

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Tracxn Startup Research Drones Landscape, July 2016