Skydio
Leading US manufacturer of autonomous drones for defense, public safety, and industrial inspection.
- CEO / Founder
- Adam Bry
- Team Size
- 501-1000
- Stage
- Growth Stage
- Total Funding
- $672M
- Latest Round
- Series F
- Key Investors
- Andreessen Horowitz (a16z); Linse Capital; Next47; IVP; NTT DoCoMo; NVIDIA; Lockheed Martin; UP.Partners; Axon; KDDI; Hercules Capital; Walton Family Foundation
Technology & Products
Key Products
Skydio X10 (flagship drone); Skydio X10D (military variant); Skydio Dock for X10 (autonomous charging/launch station); Skydio R10 (indoor drone); Skydio F10; Software: DFR Command, Remote Ops, 3D Scan, Skydio Autonomy engine, Skydio Connect, Skydio Paraverse; Attachments and payloads for X10/X10D.
Technological Advantage
Proprietary Skydio Autonomy engine — advanced AI-powered obstacle avoidance and autonomous navigation without GPS dependency; NightSense for low-light operations; deep learning computer vision; end-to-end platform (hardware + software + docks + cloud); Blue UAS cleared; US-based supply chain and manufacturing.
Differentiation
Value Proposition
World-leading AI-powered autonomous flight technology enabling drones to fly safely without expert pilots, serving mission-critical needs in defense, public safety, infrastructure inspection, and site security.
How They Differentiate
Superior AI autonomy and obstacle avoidance vs all competitors; only US-based vertically integrated drone manufacturer at scale; NDAA-compliant and Blue UAS cleared (critical for US government/defense customers); exited consumer market to focus exclusively on enterprise, public safety, and defense; strong software revenue stream (30% of revenue).
Market & Competition
Target Customers
US Department of Defense and allied militaries; federal, state, and local public safety/law enforcement agencies; critical infrastructure operators (utilities, transportation, oil & gas, construction); site security teams; government agencies.
Industry Verticals
Defense/National Security; Public Safety/Law Enforcement; Utilities (energy, oil & gas); Transportation; Construction/Engineering; Telecommunications; Education
Competitors
DJI (Chinese market leader, consumer-to-enterprise); BRINC (US-based public safety drones); Autel Robotics (Chinese enterprise drones)
Growth & Milestones
Growth Metrics
$100M+ revenue in 2023; projected ~$180M revenue in 2024; 30% from software; 38.1% gross margin (2023); 30x growth over 3 years (2020-2023); 3.8M+ customer flights (as of 2026); 835-909 employees (2025-2026)
Major Milestones
2014: Founded; 2018: Launched Skydio R1 (first consumer product); 2019: Launched Skydio 2; 2020: Launched Skydio X2 (enterprise/military); 2021: Reached $1B valuation (unicorn); won US Army SRR Program of Record; 2023: Raised $230M Series E at $2.2B valuation; became largest US drone manufacturer; exited consumer market; 2024: Raised $170M Series E extension; acquired 114 patents from GoPro; sanctioned by China; 2025: $3.5B commitment to expand US manufacturing (SkyForge); US Army $52M+ X10D order (largest single-vendor tactical sUAS order); 2026: Raised $110M Series F at $4.4B valuation
Notable Customers
Every branch of US Department of Defense; US Army (SRR Program of Record, $52M+ X10D order); US Air Forces Central; US Border Patrol; UK Ministry of Defence; Israel Defense Forces; Indian Armed Forces; Royal Canadian Navy; Ukraine; 200+ public safety agencies in 47 states; 60+ energy utilities; over half of US State Departments of Transportation; EagleView; LNG Canada; Ohio Department of Transportation; Brookhaven PD; Boston PD; Sacramento Metro Fire Department; Jacobs Engineering; Sundt Construction