History
Skydio was founded in 2014 by Adam Bry, Abe Bachrach, and Matt Donahoe, all of whom had studied at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.[6]
Bry and Bachrach were in the Robust Robotics Group, researching ways to build aircraft that could fly themselves without GPS, culminating in a fixed wing drone with a laser range finder that autonomously navigated its way around a parking lot. In 2012, Bry and Bachrach helped develop autonomous-control algorithms that could calculate a plane's trajectory and determine its location, physical orientation, velocity, and acceleration.[7] After graduation, in 2012, Bry and Bachrach took jobs at Google working on Project Wing, an autonomous drone project. Seeing a need for autonomy in drones, in 2014, Bry, Bachrach, and Donahoe founded Skydio to fulfill their belief that drones have enormous potential across industries and applications.[8] Early investors included venture capitalist Andreessen Horowitz.[9]
In March 2021, the company became a 'unicorn', becoming the first US company that both manufactures and sells its own drones, to exceed US$1 billion in value.[10][11]
In February 2023, Skydio announced a $230 million Series E fund-raising round and the construction of a new manufacturing facility in the USA. The Series E round was led by Linse Capital, with participation from existing investors Andreessen Horowitz, Next47, IVP, DoCoMo, Nvidia, Lockheed Martin, Walton Family Foundation, and UP.Partners. Hercules Capital, and Axon, the company behind the Taser and police body cameras, also invested in Skydio. The company claims that its drones are used in every branch of the US Department of Defense, by over half of all U.S. State Departments of Transportation and by more than 200 public safety agencies in 47 states.[12]
In August 2023, Skydio exited the consumer drone market to focus on military, police, and industrial users.[13]
In October 2024 Skydio was sanctioned by China after its products were approved for use by fire departments in Taiwan. The Chinese government forbade components suppliers and other businesses in China from doing business with Skydio.[14]
On March 4, 2025, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce placed 15 U.S. entities (including Skydio) on its export control list, barring the export of dual-use commodities to that business.[15][16]
