Are you a big lover of DJI drone products? Are you new to using DJI drones and do you need vital details about the corporation? Do not worry. In this article, I will provide crucial information about the DJI Company. Read further to discover answers to various questions about DJI.
Who Owns The Majority Of DJI Stock?
DJI- Da-Jiang Innovations is one of the most popular drone manufacturing companies in the world. DJI is well-known for its top-notch and world-class drone products. Apart from drones, the company also produces camera gimbals, action cameras, flight platforms, propulsion systems, camera stabilizers, and flight control systems.
Da-Jiang Innovations’ products are used widely in various industries. The company’s products are greatly utilized in the music, agricultural, business, photography, movie, and education sectors. Apart from these sectors, the products are highly used by the military and police forces in different countries.
Besides, DJI is a privately held corporation founded by Frank Wang in 2006. Being a private corporation, the general public can’t invest in the company’s shares. However, private companies accept investment from large investment banks.
The top stockholders of the DJI corporation are Accel, Sequoia Capital, and Lighthouse Capital Management. Major details about the highest DJI stockholders will be provided here
- Accel
With 1,855 investments, Accel tops the list of the major DJI stockholders. The company is located in Palo Alto, California, U.S. Accel was formerly known as Accel Partners. The corporation mainly works with organizations in seed, early, and growth-stage investments.
Founded in 1983 by Arthur Patterson and Jim Swartz, the corporation began as a startup investing in European Companies. With about 251-500 employees, Accel now has operating funds in China, London, and India.
The company focuses on organizations in the Security, Saas, Infrastructure, E-commerce, Media, and mobile sectors. Some of the other industries where Accel invests are Enterprise Software, Customer Services, and Consumer sectors.
Furthermore, some of the early and growth-stage investments of Accel are Cloudera, Jet.com, Podium, Webflow Dropbox, Dropcam, Facebook, Flipkart, and Slack. The company as well invests in large organizations that warrant great capital to fund their businesses. Recent exits of Accel include Etsy(2015), Krux (2016), and Rovio (2017).
- Sequoia Capital
Sequoia Capital has 933 investments and is the second largest investor in the DJI group. The company was founded in 1972 by Don Valentine. Sequoia Capital is an investment corporation located in Menlo Park, California, U.S.
The company majorly specializes in private companies’ seed, early, and growth stage investments. Sequoia Capital contains three different business entities- one deals with investment in the US and Europe, the second works with India and Southeast Asian companies, and the last one deals with Chinese corporations.
Sequoia Capital majorly works with high-technology corporations. Some of the successful investments by Sequoia Capital include Zoom, Tumblr, LinkedIn, Airbnb, Bitcloud, Google, and Instagram. One of the major distinct concepts of the venture capital firm is the creation of investment diversity. Apart from DJI, Sequoia Capital makes investments in Chinese corporations such as Alibaba, Dymind, Betta Pharma, WuXi Biologics, Sinnet, and Ane Logistics.
- Lighthouse Capital Management
Lighthouse Capital Management is one the largest DJI Investor. The company has 32 investments and is located in Shangai, China. Lighthouse Capital Management was founded in September 2014 by Mr. Zheng, a graduate of Xiamen University.
The corporation exclusively focuses on the new economy sectors and maintains that it reinforces the new economic corporations by providing strategic drive, capital empowerment, and quality resources.
Is It A Private Company Or Public?
DJI is a privately held company with headquarters in Nanshan, Shenzhen, China. Since the inception of the company, it has always been a private corporation. Even currently, DJI doesn’t plan to go public. Being privately held serves great benefits to the development of the DJI Corporation. The company can focus more on its administration and employees’ coordination.
Who Is The Founder Of DJI Company?
DJI was founded by Frank Wang, a Chinese Engineer, and businessman. Frank Wang was born in 1980 in Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China. Frank Wang hails from the same region where Jack Ma, the founder of Alibaba was born. The founder of the DJI group is a reserved, brilliant, and philosophical young man.
Frank Wang was a son of a teacher who adored the science behind flying objects and developed an intense passion for airborne gadgets. Frank, during his childhood days, spent most of his time reading model airplane books. When he was a kid, he also used to look forward to creating a device that can fly and follow him with a camera.
The young man later got admitted into the East China Normal University in Shangai. He studied psychology there but after some time, dropped out and joined the Hong Kong University of Science & Technology (UST) in 2003. At college, he drew the attention of his tutors when he completed a class project to build a helicopter flight control system brilliantly.
One of his teachers, Prof Li Zexiang, saw great potential in Wang and offered him good mentorship. With the support of Prof Li, Frank Wang created a small unmanned helicopter that made the first flight on Mountain Everest and reached close to its top.
Frank received an award in the ABU Robocon competition. He created a team that won the third prize amongst various groups from different Asian regions. The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology awarded him US$2,300 to develop his ideas and build a drone. In his dorm room, Frank Wang built the first DJI prototype and sold its flight control materials to Chinese companies and different universities.
He moved into Shenzhen, the main Chinese industrial hub with the proceeds he garnered from the sales. The initial DJI Company comprised Frank Wang, Zhihui Lu, Jinying Chen, and Chuqiang Chen. The ambitious minds started in a three-bedroom apartment, toiling day and night to make great products.
However, the company struggled at the beginning- there were lots of disagreements in the team. By late 2006, Frank’s company began selling about 20 controllers per month. Frank later got great support from his family friend, Lu Di. Lu Di gave Frank $90,000 to fund his drone enterprises which came in handy.
After two years, the DJI Corporation started to flourish, albeit some of the initial founders had left. Frank’s childhood dream started becoming a reality. The sales of DJI tripled or quadrupled every year between 2008 to 2014. Currently, DJI is the largest consumer drone company in the world and Frank Wang became Asia’s youngest tech billionaire in 2017. Frank Wang is also the first drone billionaire in the world.
Who Is DJI’s Biggest Competition?
DJI is currently the best consumer drone manufacturer in the world. The company provides a wide range of drones for various applications. DJI drones are well-known for their innovative characteristics and classic designs.
Besides, there are alternatives to DJI. Different companies provide products and services close to the DJI output rate. These are the biggest competitors of the DJI group;
- Skydio
Skydio was created in 2014 by Adam Bry, Abe Bachrach, and Matt Donahoe. The corporation specializes in the production of various technology and consumer electronics. Skydio is one of the biggest competitors of DJI.
Skydio has its headquarters in Redwood City, California, United States. The company is the first drone manufacturer in the United States to exceed $1 billion in value. Skydio maintains that its mission is to make the world more productive, creative, and safe with autonomous flight.
- Yuneec International
Yuneec International is another great competitor for DJI. The company was founded in 1999 and is headquartered in Jiangsu, China. Yuneec International at its early stage produced radio-controlled model aircraft.
The company started developing and producing unmanned aerial vehicles in the 2010s. Yuneec International deals with the sales of commercial drones, controllers, and other drone accessories.
- Power Vision
Power Vision has its headquarters in Beijing, China. The company was founded in 2009 and since then, it has consistently been producing cutting-edge and top-notch drone products and accessories. Power Vision produces aerial and marine drones.
Furthermore, the company has offices located in different regions. Branches of Power Vision are in the US, Finland, and Japan.
Where Are DJI Drones Manufactured?
DJI drones are manufactured in China. The major production facility of the DJI group is located in Shenzhen, Guangdong, China. Besides, the company also has a factory where product research and development works are being carried out. The factory is located in Tianjin, China.
What Does DJI Mean?
The acronym ‘DJI’ simply means ‘Da-Jiang Innovations’. ‘Da-Jiang Innovations’ literally means ‘Great Frontier Innovations’. DJI is the name of a Chinese tech company, with its headquarters in Shenzhen, Guangdong. Although the headquarters is in China, it boasts manufacturing facilities in several countries around the world.
DJI specializes in manufacturing commercial unmanned aerial vehicles (drones). Their drones are used for aerial photography and videography. In addition, DJI also manufactures action cameras, camera gimbals, propulsion systems, flight platforms, camera stabilizers, and flight control systems .
Conclusion
Now you know more about the most popular brand in the drone industry. DJI has come a long way from when it started out as a company operating out of China. This is a company that has enjoyed the benefits of proper strategic management from its executives. The result is a brand that pioneers several innovations in the drone industry.