Chinese drone maker DJI raises US$75m from Silicon Valley

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Shenzhen-based Chinese drone manufacturer DJI received investment of US$75 million this week from Silicon Valley venture capital firm Accel Partners, attracting Taiwanese chip designers to be the suppliers for this very likely dominant player in the consumer drone industry, reports our Chinese-language sister paper Commercial Times.

According to Want China Times DJI was reportedly valued at around US$8 billion after this round of funding by California-based Accel Partners, who has invested in iconic companies such as Facebook and Dropbox.

The drone market, or unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) market, has been booming since professional aerial photography and geographic information systems have become popular over the past decade. Application of the devices vary from short-distance crop-dusting to security monitoring.

The world’s two largest consumer drone manufacturers are the French comapny Parrot and DJI. The former has been listed in the French stock market and its stock price has been rising. Market analysts estimated the shipment combining Parrot and DJI last year was nearly 10 million units whereas DJI alone is projected to reach that number this year. The number of second-tier manufacturers is increasing globally as well.

Chips for drones have been upgraded with capabilities for long-distance flying and internet connection. The microprocessors have progressed from 8-bit to 32-bit as well as main component digital signal processors (DSP).

Taiwanese chip designer MediaTek has started to provide core processor samples to DJI. WT Microelectronics, who carries the world’s leading DSP Ambarella, has become a DJI supplier. Alpha Imaging Technology, an affiliate of MediaTek, has also sent samples to Parrot, the report said.