DJI now worth $8 Billion?

What a week for SZ DJI Technology Co., better known as DJI. Who would have thought that we would see valuations at a billion dollars for a hobby drone company, let alone $10 billion.  IF you have been following the news over the last few days, you will see that DJI is joining the ranks of mega tech companies like Apple.

In just a few short years ago, 2006 to be exact, Shenzhen-based DJI only had a single small office.  Today they have over 3,000 employees with offices in the United States, Germany and the Netherlands. In a recent interview with Frank Wang, DJI’s CEO, who founded the company while attending college in Hong Kong, said that he is proud of the company’s innovation record.  And that he should be.

When the Phantom was released, it changed the landscape of consumer drones, offering features like GPS positioning and return to home capabilities.  DJI set the standards for while other companies would need to follow. This past 12 months was a landmark year for DJI with introductions of products like the Lightbridge, the Spreading Wings S900 and the Inspire One.  Products like these took DJI from $130 million in revenue in 2013 to over $1 billion in sales. On Wednesday of last week DJI raised $75 million from venture capital firm, Accel Partners,  at around $8 billion valuation, according to the Wall Street Journal. DJI sold over 400,000 units last year alone with a profit exceeding $120 million.  DJI’s largest competitiors, 3D Robotics, is close behind, rasing $64 million last month.