Skip to content
  • Services
    • Drone Market Studies
    • Consulting Services
    • Financial Services & Due Diligence
    • Drone Research Subscription
  • Buy Reports
    • Industry Reports
    • Databases
  • Free Resources
    • Newsletter
    • Publications
    • Infographics
    • Whitepapers
    • Expert Interviews
    • Drone Market Map
  • Events
    • Events, Webinars and Keynotes
  • About
    • Our Clients
    • Our People
    • Our Methodology
    • Our Brand
    • Careers
    • FAQs
  • Contact
  • Cart
  • Login
×
  • Services
    • Drone Market Studies
    • Consulting Services
    • Financial Services & Due Diligence
    • Drone Research Subscription
  • Buy Reports
    • Industry Reports
    • Databases
  • Free Resources
    • Newsletter
    • Publications
    • Infographics
    • Whitepapers
    • Expert Interviews
    • Drone Market Map
  • Events
    • Events, Webinars and Keynotes
  • About
    • Our Clients
    • Our People
    • Our Methodology
    • Our Brand
    • Careers
    • FAQs
  • Contact
  • Cart
  • Login

Money Talks: Drone Investment Trends Update

3 min. read · Created: 2019-02-25 · By Hendrik Boedecker

Drone Investment Trends
M&A
Top20

Drone investment trends update:

TOP 20 Drone Investment Trends 2018

Originally published: Feb. 2019

Get the FREE Infographic

Index

  1. Joby Aviation
  2. PrecisionHawk
  3. Skydio
  4. Airobotics
  5. Drone Deploy
  6. What’s Next

Earlier this month the thermal imagery manufacturer FLIR bought the UAV developer Aeryon Labs for $200 million, beating their previous record in publicly disclosed drone investments of $134M. This has been yet another signal that even though the drone industry suffered some hard hits in 2018, the period of consolidation, larger investments and serious R&D advances is ahead. In fact, if one were to look at merely the investment figures for 2018, it wouldn’t even be that easy to tell that the drone industry struggled.

picture 3

Records were set, partnerships formed, and accelerators continued to support exceptional start-ups. A total of $702 million was invested into the drone industry in 2018 (up from $625M in 2017), $483 million of which was funnelled into the top 20 drone deals. Looking at the top 5 alone, it is clear that these drone investment trends reveal broad shifts and growth in the drone industry.

Drone Investment Report 2019 - Title 3D Shadow

The Drone Investment Report 2019

  • Since 2008, $3,163B have been invested into drone companies
  • 2018 was yet another record year with $702 million total invested through 159 investment deals
  • Since 2014, the total and annual global investment value has been growing at a constant level of 23% CAGR
Find Out More

1. Joby Aviation ($100 Million) – eVTOL Still in Focus

Early in 2018, Joby Aviation announced that they raised $100 million from a variety of investors including giants like JetBlue, Intel and Toyota. Known for its secretive nature, the company is reportedly developing an air taxi prototype in California.

2. PrecisionHawk ($75 Million)

Just days before Joby’s announcement, PrecisionHawk announced that it raised a $75 million round of funding form a group of investors led by Third Point Ventures. This brought PrecisionHawk’s total funding to more than $100 million since being founded in 2010, a huge boost for this already well established industry leader.

3. Skydio ($42 Million) – Automate Automate Automate

Coming in third is one of the most innovative young companies in the drone industry, Skydio, seeking to make “the world’s most advanced autonomous flying camera”. Created by ex-Google engineers, Skydio raised $42 million in its Series B funding round bringing their total funding $70 million to date.

4. Airobotics ($30 Million) – BVLOS Waivers Inspire Confidence

The Israeli platform manufacturer Airobotics continued to make noise on the drone market, securing $30 million in a new round of financing. The funding wasn’t the only good news for Airobotics – they also secured a BVLOS waiver from the FAA in 2018. Perhaps unsurprisingly as they were the first company in the world to be authorized to fly fully automated drones without a pilot.

5. DroneDeploy ($25 Million)

San-Francisco based software manufacturer DroneDeploy has been a leader in the field of mapping and surveying for some time now. In 2018 they raised $25 million in a Series C round led by the Invenergy Future Fund. This almost doubled their previous funding total of $31, allowing them to expand their data platform into new verticals like insurance and increase their product portfolio.

“In this highly dynamic drone market, strong partners and investors are essential to increase competitiveness and to strengthen a market entry.”

Hendrik Boedecker - DRONEII
Hendrik Boedecker, CFO & Co-Founder of DRONEII

What’s Next?

Last year brought the total of funds invested into drones since 2008 to $3,163 billion, so what now? What can we expect in 2019?

Deal Distribution by Investment Stage

Looking at the different deal types and their frequency per year, it is clear that early stage funding like product crowdfunding is losing traction and that more investors are focusing on funding more mature companies through VC deals. This reflects a maturing drone market; it shows that investors are ready to spend more money on the technology as well as that investing in drones does not necessarily have to mean exposing oneself to high risk.

2019 will likely see this trend continue as more mature companies close higher end deals and establish themselves as industry leaders.

Hendrik Boedecker - DRONEII
Hendrik Boedecker( CFO and Co-Founder of DRONEII )

Besides his financial oversight, Hendrik is an expert in aviation law and UAV regulation with more than 10 years of experience. Not only does he consult on all regulation questions, but Hendrik also writes the yearly drone investments report. Prior to launching DRONEII, at Lufthansa Technik he was the single point of contact to Civil Aviation Authorities (CAA) of Germany, Middle East and Asia.

Related Posts and Reports

top drone applications infographic

What are the Top Drone Applications?

4 min. To mark the release of the new update of our flagship report, here are the most important market trends that you need to know about within the drone industry in 2020-2025.

commercial drone stocks

Commercial Drone Stocks Categorized

5 min. With several changes in drone regulation, both in the UA and in the EU, drone operation becomes even more regulated on the one side but offers more opportunities on the other.

using drones for energy infographic

Using Drones for Energy (Industry)

4 min. To mark the release of the new update of our flagship report, here are the most important market trends that you need to know about within the drone industry in 2020-2025.

drone investments in 2021

Drone Investments Continue to Break Records

4 min. To mark the release of the new update of our flagship report, here are the most important market trends that you need to know about within the drone industry in 2020-2025.

Categories: Market, Drone Market Investments, Manufacturer, Operator, Trends & RankingsBy Hendrik Boedecker2019-02-255 Comments
Tags: Drone Investment TrendsM&ATop20

Post navigation

Related posts

top drone applications infographic
What are the Top Drone Applications?
2022-04-27
commercial drone stocks
Commercial Drone Stocks Categorized
2022-04-05
drone investments in 2021
Drone Investments Continue to Break Records
2022-02-14
drone news 2021 infographic
Drone News 2021: Highlights and Lessons for 2022
2022-01-10
bvlos operations definition infographic
BVLOS Operations: Expanding the Frontier
2021-11-15
drone parachutes impact infographic
Why Use Drone Parachutes?
2021-11-08

5 Comments

  1. Pingback: These drone companies got the most investment funding last year – Best Drone Company
  2. Pingback: These drone companies got the most investment funding last year - Drone Fly Tech
  3. Pingback: DroneII’s 2018 Top 20 Drone Investments Infographic #drone #droneday « Adafruit Industries – Makers, hackers, artists, designers and engineers!
  4. Pingback: Money Talks: Drone Investment Trends Update – www.Droni4k.com
  5. Pingback: 3DR – Quantitative Analysis – Corey Seamster

Comments are closed.

Go to Top
Stay in touch

I give my consent to the storage of my data in order to receive the newsletter.

Social networks
  • Legal Notice
  • Privacy-Statement
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Home
  • Services
  • Buy Reports
  • Free Resources
  • Blog
  • About
  • Contact