Skydio Drone Sells 'True Autonomy' for Civilian Use Cases

In 2019, drone startups raised a record $1.2 billion in funding, according to Drone Industry Insights. It's a different story in 2020: Through mid-August, only about $240 million in disclosed capital has flowed into private companies, based on public data. It seems the investment side of the industry has hit a lull if not outright slump. Further evidence: Chinese drone manufacturer DJI, which owns more than 75% of the consumer drone market, has been shedding staff in a major reorganization for the last few months. That makes the $100 million mega-round picked up by Skydio in April all the more noteworthy.