China's high-flying drone maker DJI sees further big sales after talk of US$10 billion valuation

DJI, the Chinese maker of remote-controlled quadcopters that have been at the forefront of the consumer drone craze, sees sales growing at least three times this year over the last as lower-cost technology makes the devices more affordable.

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DJI has a 70 per cent share of the world civilian drone market. Photo: Dickson Lee

Published: 4:15pm, 20 Apr 2015Updated: 12:00pm, 1 Jun 2015

DJI, the Chinese maker of remote-controlled quadcopters that have been at the forefront of the consumer drone craze, sees sales growing at least three times this year over the last as lower-cost technology makes the devices more affordable.

The Shenzhen-based company, which came to public notice after a user of one of its drones crashed it on the lawn of the White House, triggering a security scare, is also reportedly looking to raise hundreds of millions of dollars in venture funding at a valuation of US$10 billion, making it one of the world’s most valuable start-ups. It has a 70 per cent share of the global civilian drone market.

“We have grown three to five times year-on-year in terms of revenue, and that trend ran from 2009 until last year. We are very optimistic of the continuation of the growth,” company spokesman Michael Perry said.

“International competition in the drone market is increasing, but DJI is uniquely positioned because of our history of developing stable flight controllers,” he said. “No other company has been able to match our combination of accessibility, affordability and reliable performance,” he said.

Perry said that the company was not ready to make any announcement on the funding reports.

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