On March 8, in the past ten years, the Chinese drone giant DJI established a successful business in the United States, driving almost all its competitors out of the market. However, in recent months, the company has laid off a large number of employees in North America, and its business has been challenged by the brain drain.

According to several people familiar with the matter, the departure of key executives (some have joined their competitors) has intensified the challenge of the US government's restrictions on Chinese companies, and DJI's once-out-of-reach dominance is likely to be shaken. DJI did not comment on the departure of American employees mentioned by current and former employees.

According to three former employees and one current employee, about one-third of DJI's more than 200 employees in North America left or were laid off from offices in Palo Alto, Burbank and New York last year. In February of this year, DJI's head of R&D in the United States resigned, and the company fired the remaining 10 R&D personnel at the American Research Center in Palo Alto, California.

DJI said it made a difficult decision to reduce Palo Alto’s staff to reflect the company’s “changing needs”.

The company also stated: “We thank all employees for their contributions and will continue to be committed to serving our customers and partners. Although competitors’ claims are misleading, our corporate customers know that DJI’s products can ensure data Security. Although there are many rumors from anonymous sources, DJI is still committed to serving the North American market."

Since its establishment in 2006, DJI has become a symbol of innovation in China. Sources and competitors say that the company’s brand influence, technology, manufacturing strength, and sales force all mean that it will not soon lose its position in the multi-billion-dollar U.S. and global non-military drone market. position.

However, according to three former executives and two competitors, DJI’s ability to be included on the “Entity List” by the US Department of Commerce in December 2020 and its R&D operations in California closed at the same time may affect DJI’s ability to serve the needs of US customers , Because it prohibits DJI from buying or using American technology or parts.

In the same month, DJI's head of public safety in the United States, Romeo Durscher, resigned. He played a central role in the company's business expansion to promote drone technology to U.S. non-military government departments and agencies.

Descher was a project manager of NASA and a very influential figure in the drone industry. He currently works in Auterion, Switzerland, which is a competitor of DJI.

Descher joined DJI in 2014. He said: “Leaving this market leader that is far ahead of other companies is not an easy decision, but internal struggles have distracted people from the real goal. By 2020, , The situation got worse, DJI lost a lot of talents."

Before Descher's departure, DJI had several other key executives in North America who left last year, including Cynthia Huang, director of business development. The latter also joined Auterion, and she said the layoffs in the past year were the main reason for her decision to leave.

Privately held DJI did not release sales figures. The U.S. Department of Defense estimates that the U.S. non-military UAV market was worth $4.2 billion last year. According to the consulting company DroneAnalyst, DJI controls nearly 90% of the UAV consumer market and more than 70% of the industrial market in North America.

DroneAnalyst research director David Benowitz said that the US ban may affect DJI's mobile applications, network servers, and some battery and imaging products. Before leaving last summer, Benowitz was an executive of DJI's Shenzhen corporate team, which worked with industrial customers.

DJI stated in December that the ban will not affect the ability of American customers to buy and use its products. The company said: "The U.S. Congress considered a broad ban last year, but ultimately rejected it because such a ban will pose a challenge to many companies and government agencies that rely on drones."

But Benowitz said that although the U.S. government has a relatively small proportion of DJI’s business, its restrictions may have a "chilling effect." Other buyers worry that the government will take more stringent measures against the company in the future. .

However, DJI's current competitors are very small, including France's Parrot and California-based Skydio.

Chris Roberts, CEO of Parrot Americas, said that 2020 is very important for the company's development in the United States. It was designated as a supplier by the US Department of Defense and won business from emergency services and security agencies.

Skydio announced a $170 million Series D financing last week and stated that its valuation exceeds $1 billion. Skydio CEO Adam Bry said: "The hardware manufactured by DJI is very good, but we are still in a very early stage in the market, and it is still very primitive compared to the hardware that will be launched." (Small small)

Source: NetEase Technology Report, translated by Google Translate