Skydio Halts Consumer Drone Sales, Shifts Focus to Professionals

Four years after releasing the Skydio 2, a drone famed for its unique autonomous object tracking and advanced cinematic features like KeyFrame, Skydio has announced a halt in selling drones to consumers.

Skydio’s CEO, Adam Bry, stated in a press release that the company’s focus is now on institutional and commercial customers.

A Sky Full of Opportunities

While Skydio’s drones have been popular among consumers for capturing breathtaking photos and videos during activities like cycling, climbing, and skiing, they’re equally sought-after in professional sectors. Industries ranging from public safety, transport, energy, construction, and defense have seen these aerial devices’ potential.

CEO Adam Bry pointed out, “While Skydio 2 has been an incredible success in enabling new kinds of content capture, Skydio drones are also having a transformative impact for over 1,500 enterprise and public sector customers, putting sensors in dangerous and important places to perform inspections, find missing children, and protect our troops around the world. Our drones are making the core industries that our civilization runs on – public safety, transportation, energy, construction, and defense – safer and more efficient. And it’s becoming more and more clear every day that we need trusted, secure drones to meet these critical applications. The impact we’re having with our enterprise and public sector customers has become so compelling that it demands nothing less than our full focus and attention. As a result, I have made the very difficult decision to sunset our consumer business in order to put everything we’ve got into serving our enterprise and public sector customers.”

Customers can no longer purchase the Skydio 2+ Starter, Sports, Cinema, and Pro Kits. Nevertheless, the company promises to continue software and customer support for existing users.

Warranties, Skydio Care, and repairs remain supported. Those concerned about accessories like replacement batteries, propellers, and charging cables will be stocked as long as possible for current users.

Commercial entities and government agencies can still acquire the Skydio 2+ Enterprise Kit through official Skydio representatives or resellers.

Shifting Gears in the Drone Industry

Skydio isn’t the first to transition from recreational flyers to professional users. A few years back, French drone maker Parrot withdrew from the consumer market due to plummeting sales. Drones targeted at governmental bodies and corporations typically have a higher profit margin. Moreover, these drones are often bundled with specialized software, especially for data processing, adding further value to the purchase.

As the Drone Industry evolves, companies like Skydio are recalibrating their flight path, aiming for newer, more lucrative horizons.