Following stringent restrictions by the US government that have essentially blacklisted Chinese drone manufacturers from the US market, US drone makers are now filling the huge void and thereby shore up their worth.
One of the companies that have benefitted tremendously from the Chinese ban is Skydio, and this is further confirmed with its recent valuation of more than a billion dollars. This is a fallout of the freezing of drones from China by several security agencies, as a result of what the US government insists is credible evidence that Chinese drones and their components are covert tools for espionage by the Chinese government.
The military and security segment of the market is most affected by the ban. However, a few Chinese drone makers are still active in the market, although they can only provide consumer-grade devices. Chinese drone giant DJI remains a strong player in the consumer market, although it could have fared better if the restrictions were not in place.
Skydio is expected to supply its high-end military-grade drones to the US Army and other security agencies, as well as several other applications.
However, market analysts are of the view that the consumer segment of the drone market holds huge potential in the next few years. It is seen as the fastest-growing segment of the drone market and holds up to 35 billion dollars in four years. Therefore, pursuing investment along these lines may hold some hope for Chinese drone makers, as they continue to adapt to the seeming unfair regulatory and uncertainty,- driven business climate put in place by the government.
These Chinese firms may just be unfortunate to be caught in the crosshairs of a battle of wits between the Chinese and US government.
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(source)
