Top 10 US Based Drone Companies to Watch in 2023-2024
The drone industry is booming in the United States. According to the FAA, over 878,000 drones are registered in the US as of early 2023, with 163,000 registered in 2022 alone. Both hobbyist and commercial drone use is surging.
US drone companies are leading innovation across consumer, enterprise, and defense segments. American firms also excel in software, sensor and data analytics technologies that make drones more capable and valuable.
We analyzed over 50 major US drone manufacturers and service providers to select the top 10 leaders. Our methodology weighs three key factors:
Market leadership: The company’s share of consumer vs commercial drone revenues and units sold. Also includes overall brand recognition and impact on the industry.
Innovation: Proprietary technology development for hardware, software and services that differentiate the company. Unique capabilities and features that expand drone use cases.
Growth metrics: Recent revenue and valuation trends, funding raised, customer acquisitions, partnerships and investments in future capabilities.
![Top 10 US Based Drone Companies](https://dotdotfuture.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/drone-mapping-a-construction-site.jpeg)
Based on these metrics, below are the top 10 US drone companies to watch in 2023:
Top 10 US Based Drone Companies to Watch in 2023
1. Skydio
- Founded: 2014
- Headquarters: Redwood City, CA
- Funding: $340 million
- Market focus: Autonomous consumer and commercial drones
- Core products: Skydio 2 drone. Autonomy software stack.
- Market share: New entrant, quickly capturing photography market share
- Customers: Consumers, creative agencies, enterprises
- Growth rate: 300% CAGR since 2017
- Patents: 25 granted, over 500 pending
- Thought leadership: Pioneer of sophisticated AI-powered drone autonomy.
- Skydio Website – https://www.skydio.com/
Skydio’s autonomous drones lead the industry in AI and computer vision for navigation. Over $340 million in funding and strong revenue growth cement them as a top innovator. The Skydio 2 offers fully autonomous flying and cinematography without a pilot’s input.
2. DJI
- Founded: 2006
- Headquarters: Shenzhen, China. Main US offices in Palo Alto and Los Angeles.
- Funding: Over $105 million
- Market focus: Consumer, commercial and government drones
- Core products: Mavic, Phantom, Inspire, Matrice multicopters. Ronin camera gimbals.
- Market share: ~72% of global consumer drone market
- Customers: Industries, creative agencies, farmers, utilities
- Growth rate: Average 45% annual revenue growth from 2015-2018
- Patents: Over 5000 granted
- Thought leadership: Most recognizable consumer drone brand. Market creator.
- DJI Website – https://www.dji.com/
Although a Chinese brand, DJI has significant US operations across R&D, manufacturing and sales. The clear consumer drone leader with over 70% market share, DJI continues to innovate across price points. Their Mavic and Phantom drones dominate the photography segment.
3. Parrot
- Founded: 1994
- Headquarters: Paris, France. US offices in Boston and San Francisco.
- Funding: Over $300 million
- Market focus: Commercial and military drones
- Core products: Anafi, Bebop, Disco fixed wing and multicopters. Software stack.
- Market share: 7.2% of global consumer drone market
- Customers: Agriculture, construction, defense clients
- Growth rate: 46% commercial drone revenue growth from 2018-2019
- Patents: Over 500 granted
- Thought leadership: Early popularizer of recreational drones. Leading computer vision stack.
- Parrot Website – https://www.parrot.com/us
Parrot is transitioning from a consumer drone maker into a major commercial UAV provider. Their fixed wing and quadcopter models excel at inspection and mapping applications. Parrot’s advanced sensing and data analytics acquisitions position them for leadership.
4. Kespry
- Founded: 2013
- Headquarters: Menlo Park, CA
- Funding: $28 million
- Market focus: Commercial industrial drones
- Core products: Falcon 8, Falcon VTOL drones. Kespry Cloud software.
- Market share: Leading aerial intelligence platform for aggregates, construction
- Customers: Caterpillar, insurance firms, mines, other industrial buyers
- **Growth rate:**Strong revenue growth and customer acquisition
- Patents: 4 granted, over 20 pending
- Thought leadership: Verticalized drone-based data solutions for the enterprise.
- Kespry Website – https://www.kespry.com/
Kespry provides an end-to-end drone solution optimized for industrial verticals like insurance, mining, and construction. Their proprietary aerial intelligence platform drives strong growth and helped Kespry gain enterprises like Caterpillar as clients.
5. PrecisionHawk
- Founded: 2009
- Headquarters: Raleigh, NC
- Funding: $29 million
- Market focus: Commercial drone data platforms
- Core products: PrecisionMapper, Latas, DataMapper software
- Market share: Leading drone data analytics provider
- Customers: Energy, agriculture, insurance firms
- Growth rate: Over 100% CAGR since 2010
- Patents: 10 granted
- Thought leadership: Early FAA approvals for pioneering commercial drones.
- PrecisionHawk Website – https://www.precisionhawk.com/
PrecisionHawk’s drone data platforms serve major commercial clients including the FAA, USDA, oil and gas firms. Their cloud-based software provides easy drone mapping, analysis and compliance. PrecisionHawk is a leader in making UAVs more useful for business customers.
6. DroneDeploy
- Founded: 2013
- Headquarters: San Francisco, CA
- Funding: $92 million
- Market focus: Commercial drone data software
- Core products: Drone mapping, modeling and analytics platform
- Market share: Leading cloud drone software provider
- Customers: Architecture, engineering, construction firms
- Growth rate: 100%+ CAGR since 2016
- Patents: 27 granted, over 150 pending
- Thought leadership: Easy-to-use drone data stack for enterprises.
- DroneDeploy Website – https://www.dronedeploy.com/
This drone data software platform is user-friendly and highly scalable for businesses to tap aerial intelligence. DroneDeploy’s mapping and analytics solutions have fueled rapid growth. Their collaboration with Autodesk underscores their industry leadership.
7. Measure
- Founded: 2019 (DJI spinoff)
- Headquarters: Los Angeles, CA
- Funding: Well-funded via DJI parent
- Market focus: Commercial drone services and hardware
- Core products: Measure One drone. Aeroscope remote ID. Drone services.
- Market share: Largest North American drone services provider
- Customers: Major corporations across industries
- Growth rate: Rapid customer acquisition since launch
- Patents: inherits DJI patents
- Thought leadership: Dominant enterprise drone operator with hardware expertise.
- Measure Website – https://www.measure.com/
Measure spun off from DJI as the largest North American commercial drone service provider. Their diversified customer base across industries and innovative Measure One drone cement Measure as a top enterprise UAV firm.
8. AeroVironment
- Founded: 1971
- Headquarters: Simi Valley, CA
- Funding: Self-sufficient via contracts
- Market focus: Military and commercial drones
- Core products: Puma, Raven, Quantix drones. Tactical missile systems.
- Market share: Leading supplier of small recon drones to US DoD.
- Customers: Pentagon, agriculture, energy companies
- Growth rate: Steady defense contract-based growth
- Patents: 188 granted
- Thought leadership: Engineering excellence across VTOL drones and tactical weapons.
- AeroVironment Website – https://www.avinc.com/
AeroVironment excels at making highly advanced drones for military and major commercial clients. Their VTOL craft boast superior endurance and capabilities tailored to specialized use cases like critical infrastructure monitoring.
9. Airware
- Founded: 2011
- Headquarters: San Francisco, CA
- Funding: $118 million
- Market focus: Commercial drone autopilot systems
- Core products: Aerial information platform. Autopilot hardware.
- Market share: Major autopilot provider for commercial UAVs
- Customers: Mining, insurance, railroad companies
- Growth rate: Strong customer pipeline growth
- Patents: 12 granted
- Thought leadership: Enables enterprise drone fleet deployment at scale.
- Airware Website – https://www.airware.com/
Airware provides comprehensive software to help enterprises integrate and scale drone programs. They allow firms to manage hundreds of drone pilots, streamlining operations ranging from compliance to data processing.
10. Vantage Robotics
- Founded: 2013
- Headquarters: San Diego, CA
- Funding: $7 million
- Market focus: Consumer/prosumer drones
- Core products: Snap, EcoBee, Eye, Pepper drones
- Market share: Leader in easy-to-fly hobbyist drones segment
- Customers: Mainly direct to consumers
- Growth rate: Over 100% annual growth
- Patents: 2 granted
- Thought leadership: User-friendly quadcopter drones with app control
- Vantage Robotics Website – https://vantagerobotics.com/
Vantage Robotics caters to hobbyists and pros with the easy-to-use Snap drone. Their foldable quadcopter with intuitive controls and HD video represents strong product leadership in the prosumer aerial photography segment.
Notable Mentions
Some other innovative US drone startups to watch include Zipline, which makes UAVs that deliver medical supplies in Africa. Rocketmine based in Maryland makes hybrid gas-electric drones for long-range industrial use. California-based Impossible Aerospace produces high-endurance commercial drones via efficient battery technology.
While consumer drones get the most public attention, commercial and government drones now account for the majority of American UAV revenues and software innovation. US firms lead in critical technologies like computer vision, lidar sensors, drone data analytics and traffic management. Dominance in this supporting tech stack gives American companies an overall edge.
Strong engineering talent, robust funding availability and favorable regulations also make the US a powerhouse for advancing drone capabilities. Whether for inspecting oil rigs, mapping construction sites or photographing wildlife, US drone companies will continue leading the industry in 2023 and beyond.