DJI Drone

DJI is a Chinese drone manufacturer founded in 2006, originally building professional flight control modules before pivoting to consumer aerial drones with the 2013 launch of its Phantom line, which propelled it to dominance in the consumer drone market . The company was incubated by Hong Kong University of Science and Technology professor Zexiang Li, who also participated in its early investment alongside fellow professor Bingqiang Gao . DJI has since faced talent competition from former employees who went on to found rivals like Bambu Lab, whose founding team of Huaiyu Liu, Zihan Chen and Wei Wu previously led smart glasses, FPV drone and motion control projects at DJI . The company has also encountered geopolitical friction, including being targeted by software bans such as Figma's restriction . In the view of competitor Liu Jingkang of Insta360, DJI founder Frank Wang (汪滔) "is necessarily an opponent worth respecting" for having built a company that remains strong and growing . As of 2021 reporting, DJI still had no close second in the drone industry, with consumer drones comprising the bulk of its revenue even as that market segment's growth slowed .