RIP Lily Robotics: the Flying Camera Drone Was a Great Idea That Others Will Get Off the Ground

Lily, a high-flying camera drone company that came out of stealth in 2015, came in for a hard landing today. The company announced that it spite of impressive pre-orders--$34 million worth--it couldn't nail down the financing needed to "unlock our manufacturing line" and would be issuing refunds to all would-be customers. Lily's founders, Antoine Balaresque and Henry Bradlow, have not yet been available for comment. When I first met Balaresque and Bradlow, they were building prototypes of Lily in a crowded garage behind an Atherton, Calif., hacker house. I knew I was seeing the beginning of a classic Silicon Valley startup tale.