The Top 10 Drone Companies to Watch in 2024
Drones, also known as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), are transforming various industries. From photography to inspection, drones are providing new perspectives and capabilities. The drone industry is booming, with worldwide spending expected to reach $58 billion by 2026. As demand rises, drone manufacturers are innovating quickly.
In this article, we explore the top drone companies leading the industry in 2024. We analyze the top players, their competitive advantages, market share, and growth strategies. Read on for an in-depth look at the drone makers set to dominate over the next few years.
Key Takeaways
- The global commercial drone market is surging, expected to reach $127 billion by 2020 driven by growing enterprise and consumer demand.
- DJI dominates consumer drones with a 70% market share, but new entrants like Skydio are challenging with cutting-edge AI navigation.
- Autel Robotics, Yuneec and Parrot are top contenders in the consumer drone market, though unlikely to dethrone DJI soon.
- In the commercial category, Kespry and AeroVironment lead for industrial remote sensing, while Wingcopter is a top contender for delivery.
- Airspace regulations remain a limitation, but new FAA rules expanding commercial drone flights will further accelerate U.S. market growth.
- Future trends like passenger drones, increased autonomy and drone fleet software require both hardware and software innovation to lead the industry.
Introduction
Drones have evolved from primarily military applications to a diverse range of commercial and consumer uses. Photography, videography, mapping, surveillance, delivery, and inspections are just some of the popular drone applications today.
The commercial drone market is expanding rapidly. According to PricewaterhouseCoopers, the global commercial drone market will reach $127.3 billion by 2020. Top drone companies are scaling up manufacturing and innovating with new designs and features to meet growing demand across industries.
As the market matures, consolidation is also occurring. Large aerospace and defense contractors are acquiring successful drone startups to quickly gain market share. Competition is fierce, with Chinese drone makers presenting stiff competition with low-cost models.
In this dynamic environment, we analyze the top 10 drone companies likely to lead the pack in 2024:
Top 10 Drone Companies for 2024
- DJI
- Parrot
- Yuneec
- Autel Robotics
- Skydio
- Kespry
- EHANG
- AeroVironment
- UVify
- Wingcopter
This list includes established drone makers and startups, with a mix of Chinese, American and European companies. Let’s look at what makes each of these players stand out.
The Top Players Up Close
1. DJI
DJI is the dominant consumer drone manufacturer, with over 70% market share worldwide. The Chinese company make the popular Phantom and Mavic series quadcopters. Their flagship Phantom 4 Pro is a compact folding drone with a professional-grade camera.
Competitive Advantage: DJI leads in product innovation, commercializing new consumer drone capabilities before others. Their easy-to-fly drones, integrated cameras, intuitive apps and flight automation make aerial photography accessible to everyone.
Growth Strategy: While best known for consumer drones, DJI is expanding into commercial and enterprise drones. In 2018 they entered a partnership with Microsoft to make their drones AI-enabled. This allows enterprises to leverage aerial data for applications like infrastructure inspection.
With the broadest drone product portfolio and a thriving OEM parts business, DJI will continue dominating the global market in the near future.
2. Parrot
Parrot is a French wireless products manufacturer that ventured into consumer drones in 2010. Their arsenal of drones ranges from basic quadcopters to advanced fixed wing and jumping drones. Most Parrot drones emphasize portability, with foldable designs made for outdoor adventures.
Competitive Advantage: Parrot focuses on connectability in their UAVs. Built-in wi-fi, Bluetooth, GPS and HD live video streaming allow pilots to control Parrot drones completely from a smartphone. For hobbyists, these features enhance the flying experience.
Growth Strategy: In 2018 Parrot shifted focus to commercial drones, pivoting away from the competitive consumer drone space. Their new Anafi drone targets inspection and surveillance users with a compact body and swiveling camera. Parrot is also developing advanced software for drone fleet management and data analysis.
By targeting commercial use cases, Parrot hopes to find a profitable niche against DJI. Their software pivot will also boost revenues beyond hardware sales alone.
3. Yuneec
Yuneec is a Chinese aviation company known for the popular Typhoon and Breeze drones. After starting as a RC hobby company, Yuneec pivoted to drones in 2014 and gained traction. The Typhoon H Pro offers six rotor redundancy and retractable landing gear for added safety and portability.
Competitive Advantage: Yuneec targets the high-end prosumer market with drones packing professional features, while still priced under enterprise UAVs. The Typhoon H Pro shoots in 4K, offering camera lens and flight mode options unmatched at the consumer level.
Growth Strategy: Yuneec partners with big brands like GoPro to integrate leading action cameras in their drones. Focusing on the most in-demand consumer features allows Yuneec to keep up with DJI. Their acquisition by Chinese robotics company Ninebot also gives Yuneec resources to fund expansion.
With competitive pricing and collaborations, Yuneec enjoys a solid position as the 2nd largest consumer drone maker worldwide after DJI.
4. Autel Robotics
Autel Robotics is an American drone manufacturer known for the EVO folding quadcopter. Their drones offer best-in-class camera resolution and range for aerial photography fans. Autel focuses exclusively on the consumer market.
Competitive Advantage: Autel’s EVO drone was the first to combine a 4K camera, foldable design and long battery life. Great image quality and portability make the EVO a favorite among hobbyist photographers.
Growth Strategy: Autel plans to double down on foldable consumer drones with better cameras and flight times. Leaked images of the upcoming Autel EVO 2 show a unique vertical folding body promising portability beyond any DJI model. If priced competitively, the EVO 2 could take market share from DJI in 2020.
Autel Robotics will likely remain a pure-play consumer drone maker advancing the state of prosumer photography quads.
5. Skydio
Skydio is an American AI drone startup based in California. Their flagship is the Skydio 2, an autonomous drone equipped with 12 cameras for omnidirectional obstacle avoidance. Unlike any other consumer UAV, the Skydio 2 can intelligently fly, track and record subjects all by itself.
Competitive Advantage: Skydio drones can actively navigate an environment, predicting trajectories and avoiding collisions without input. For solo pilots, this is a gamechanger providing both autonomy and safety. The R1 predecessor proved Skydio’s AI capabilities for applications like mountain biking.
Growth Strategy: Skydio is focusing entirely on developing AI for drones. Better autonomous flight opens up possibilities from cameramen drones following mountain bikers, to enterprise drones inspecting cell towers hands-free. Skydio’s $100 million funding will accelerate their R&D. As AI improves, their drones will do more autonomously than any competitors.
With unmatched autonomy in a portable package, Skydio has potential to carve out a leading role in AI-enabled consumer drones.
6. Kespry
Kespry is an American commercial drone manufacturer serving primarily industrial inspection customers. Their rugged quadcopters integrate proprietary software for aerial data analysis. Kespry streamlines drone programs for enterprises across mining, construction, insurance and other industries.
Competitive Advantage: Kespry offers a complete drone data solution combining cloud systems, aerial sensors and analytics. Customers get an end-to-end process enabling industrial drone adoption at scale. Kespry also promises data security compliance required by regulated enterprises.
Growth Strategy: In 2019, Kespry released the first hybrid VTOL industrial drone combining quadcopter mobility and plane efficiency. This allows longer flights for large-scale inspections. Kespry will continue cutting costs and making drones more valuable through software and analytics. Most sales are direct, allowing Kespry to grow while controlling the customer experience.
Kespry is well-positioned as an enterprise drone solution provider in a market segment with strong growth potential. Their focus on data and vertical integration gives Kespry an edge.
7. EHANG
EHANG is a Chinese drone manufacturer focused on passenger drones and aerial logistics solutions. Their flagship is the EHANG 184, an autonomous quadcopter capable of transporting a single human passenger. EHANG also makes delivery drones for transporting goods in urban environments.
Competitive Advantage: EHANG is pioneering passenger drones for urban air mobility. While other air taxi designs use gasoline engines, the all-electric EHANG 184 is quieter, safer and more eco-friendly. EHANG is also aggressively prototyping delivery drone solutions for Asian markets.
Growth Strategy: EHANG aims to make passenger drones a mainstream transportation solution. They are already conducting flight tests with regulators in cities from Germany to China. EHANG also partners with logistics firms to demonstrate the utility of cargo drones. If they can achieve regulatory approval and public acceptance, EHANG will lead a new class of transportation.
Pioneering the nascent passenger drone market gives EHANG enormous growth potential. Their early move into delivery drones also positions them well for Asia’s quickly expanding logistics networks.
8. AeroVironment
AeroVironment is an American company specializing in small VTOL craft for military and commercial clients. Their roots supply drones to the Pentagon and allied forces for reconnaissance and strike missions. AeroVironment later adapted their military drones for commercial applications like agriculture analytics.
Competitive Advantage: AeroVironment’s military expertise gives their commercial drones rock-solid engineering and reliability. Their Quantix hybrid drone offers endurance and imagery unmatched by any agriculture competitor. AeroVironment also develops automated charging systems to keep drones flying indefinitely.
Growth Strategy: AeroVironment will leverage engineering talent from defense contracts to build some of the most capable and reliable commercial drones. Focusing on niche industrial use cases like utilities and mining provides a blueprint for growth. Recent acquisitions of VTOL drone makers Pulse Aerospace and Arcturus UAV will further expand their capabilities.
AeroVironment’s deep engineering expertise, DoD funding and acquisitions make it a key player in industrial drones.
9. UVify
UVify is a Korean drone startup known for nimble racing quadcopters. Their Draco is a modular folding drone designed for first-person-view (FPV) racing. UVify also makes motion capture drones for films, used for scenes like chase sequences.
Competitive Advantage: UVify’s custom engineering produces ultra-responsive racing drones with speeds over 45 mph. For amateur and pro pilots alike, performance keeps UVify a top FPV brand. Their configurable designs also let customers swap parts for different needs.
Growth Strategy: UVify aims to make high-performance drones accessible to consumers and pros. Racing and entertainment drones are a distinct segment from industrial and photography UAVs. This niche avoidance helps UVify avoid directly competing with giants like DJI. As camera drones saturate, UVify’s future looks bright.
UVify’s pure focus on performance and modularity secures their lead in racing and specialized filmmaking drones.
10. Wingcopter
Wingcopter is a German drone startup focused on delivery drones for commercial clients. Their unique multirotor designs allow fast horizontal flight and stable hovering forPACKAGE delivery. Wingcopter is currently testing their delivery drones in a few pilot projects worldwide.
Competitive Advantage: Wingcopter’s patented tilt-rotor mechanism enables efficient long-range delivery flights. This lets them transport more cargo, faster than quadcopters over距离. Proprietary flight control technology also helps Wingcopter drones avoid obstacles and land precisely.
Growth Strategy: Wingcopter will work with logistics providers like UPS to prove the utility of delivery drones on real routes. They aim to become the leading OEM provider as major shippers adopt UAV fleets. Wingcopter will also expand into medical delivery drones in more rural settings.
Wingcopter shows strong potential to become the default choice as delivery drones go mainstream. Their technical innovations solve key problems holding back adoption.
Industry Outlook and Trends
Large aerospace corporations are also getting into the commercial drone business through acquisitions. Boeing and Airbus both now have UAV subsidiaries to complement their manned aircraft segments. Their large balance sheets will accelerate drone technology development. However, they lag behind more nimble startups in consumer and commercial markets.
Chinese drone manufacturers led by DJI represent the biggest competitors to US brands today. High-volume mass production provides economies of scale. Chinese labor cost advantages also allow consumer quads with amazing features at unbeatable prices. US brands retain an edge in sensitive government and enterprise verticals avoiding Chinese electronics. But the consumer market firmly belongs to China.
Looking ahead, the drone landscape will shift as technologies like autonomy, 5G connectivity and AI mature. Cloud software to manage drone fleets scalably will become essential. The industry will consolidate around a few end-to-end platforms. Hardware innovation will continue, but proprietary data analytics will emerge as a key competitive advantage. Drone mobility-as-a-service business models will also gain share over hardware sales.
Future urban air mobility powered by autonomous passenger drones could disrupt the landscape entirely. If regulators approve, air taxi services could shrink the market for consumer drones and cameras. Logistics is already a practical use case today. Leading companies are testing delivery drones regionally. When unmanned cargo services reach scale, FedEx and Amazon will become major direct players.
For the near future, the rapidly growing commercial drone market will remain the most profitable. Construction, utilities, mining, insurance and other industries are adopting UAV solutions for remote sensing at massive scale. This enterprise demand is fueling the growth of leading drone manufacturers today.
Conclusion
Drones are transforming business operations and opening new creative possibilities. As the market boom continues, top drone companies are jockeying for pole position with ever-advancing aerial technology.
Chinese drone manufacturer DJI currently dominates the global consumer market with their easy-to-fly yet feature-packed designs. However, American startups like Skydio and Autel Robotics are closing the gap with cutting-edge navigation and imaging capabilities.
In the commercial category, incumbents like Kespry and AeroVironment lead in remote sensing for industrial sectors. But insurgent Wingcopter is poised to disrupt deliveries with their innovative tilt-rotor drones. Integrated hardware, software and data analytics will be the key ingredients for long term success.
Regulatory support in the form of expanded commercial drone flights has been critical to market growth. Future Tellis deregulation like beyond visual line of sight operations and traffic management systems will further support adoption. Technology barriers around autonomy, battery life and safety also continue to improve.
One thing is certain: the drone revolution has only just taken off. The market outlook promises robust growth and innovation for the world’s leading drone companies. Superior flight performance and intelligence will go hand in hand in tomorrow’s unmanned aviation industry. Companies that master both hardware and software capabilities are set to dominate the skies.