DJI on track to become the world’s first billion dollar consumer drone company

 

 

Reported exclusively by The Verge, it appears Shenzhen-based drone manufacturer DJI is on track to become the first billion dollar consumer drone company.

Founded by Frank Wang in 2006, the Chinese company has steadily found its ground in the consumer drone market, pulling in roughly $500 million in revenue throughout 2014, approximately four times its revenue in 2013, according to the Wall Street Journal’s numbers. This year, DJI is set to bring in over $1 billion in revenue, on top of talks with investors to start a new round of funding to further increase its capital.

This growth was largely catapulted by the success of its Phantom lineup, which brought drones to the masses through accessible controls and a considerably lower cost than most everything else on the market to that point. It’s expected this growth will be compounded by the initial and forthcoming success of its latest drone, the Inspire One, which has a larger, more rugged frame and is capable of capturing 4K video and 12-megapixel stills through its pan-tilt head.

It’s also worth pointing out that DJI recently joined the Micro Four Thirds System standard. While it could simply be a case of formalities, it wouldn’t be surprising to see the next lineup of DJI drones to feature interchangeable lenses, offering up much more capabilities than they currently have.