The drone industry reached a critical inflection point in 2025.
Commercial drone revenue hit $18.5 billion globally. Enterprise adoption accelerated across delivery, agriculture, and infrastructure inspection. Yet venture funding remains selective.
Smart money flows to companies solving real problems. Not just cool flying gadgets.
This guide profiles active drone investors in 2025. Their portfolios. Investment criteria. How to approach them.
How to pitch your drone startup to investors
You've built a working drone prototype. Tested it in real conditions. Early customers love it.
But investors ignore your emails.
Stop sending PDF pitch decks. They vanish in inboxes. You can't see who opened them. Partners can't track which slides matter.
Use trackable links instead. Know when investors open your deck. See time spent per slide. Get alerts when shared internally.
Ellty makes it simple. Share secure links. Track pitch deck engagement. No more guessing if investors saw your work.
Start tracking your pitch deck
25 Drone investors
1. Bessemer Venture Partners
Leading VC with dedicated frontier tech practice including drones.
Investment focus: Enterprise drone applications, autonomous systems, drone infrastructure
Investment range: Series A to growth, $5M-$50M
Notable investments: Skydio, Zipline, Kespry
Contact: bvp.com
2. Andreessen Horowitz
Silicon Valley giant betting on autonomous aviation.
Investment focus: Drone delivery, urban air mobility, defense applications
Investment range: Seed to late stage, $1M-$100M+
Notable investments: Skydio, Anduril, Airspace
Contact: a16z.com
3. Boeing HorizonX Ventures
Corporate VC arm of aerospace leader.
Investment focus: Urban air mobility, drone services, UTM systems
Investment range: Series A to C, $2M-$20M
Notable investments: Near Earth Autonomy, Matternet
Contact: boeing.com/horizonx
4. Airbus Ventures
Strategic investor in next-gen aviation.
Investment focus: Autonomous flight, drone infrastructure, aerial data
Investment range: Seed to Series B, $1M-$15M
Notable investments: Iris Automation, Dedrone
Contact: airbusventures.vc
5. Lux Capital
Deep tech investor backing frontier technologies.
Investment focus: Autonomous systems, defense drones, industrial applications
Investment range: Seed to growth, $500K-$50M
Notable investments: Anduril, Saildrone
Contact: luxcapital.com
6. Eclipse Ventures
Hardware-focused VC with drone portfolio.
Investment focus: Industrial drones, hardware innovation, full-stack solutions
Investment range: Series A to C, $5M-$30M
Notable investments: Airobotics, Bright Machines
Contact: eclipse.vc
7. Khosla Ventures
Early backer of breakthrough drone technologies.
Investment focus: Autonomous systems, AI-powered drones, new use cases
Investment range: Seed to late stage, $1M-$50M
Notable investments: Zipline (early investor)
Contact: khoslaventures.com
8. Lockheed Martin Ventures
Defense giant's investment arm.
Investment focus: Defense applications, counter-drone, secure communications
Investment range: Series A to C, $1M-$10M
Notable investments: Drone Racing League, multiple undisclosed
Contact: lockheedmartin.com/ventures
9. Intel Capital
Corporate VC investing in drone ecosystem.
Investment focus: Drone chips, computer vision, edge computing
Investment range: Series A to D, $2M-$25M
Notable investments: Airware (exited), Yuneec
Contact: intel.com/capital
10. Qualcomm Ventures
Backing connected drone technologies.
Investment focus: 5G drones, connectivity, drone platforms
Investment range: Seed to Series C, $500K-$20M
Notable investments: Multiple drone component companies
Contact: qualcommventures.com
11. GV (Google Ventures)
Alphabet's venture arm with drone investments.
Investment focus: AI-powered drones, mapping, logistics
Investment range: Seed to growth, $1M-$100M
Notable investments: Wing (spun out), various portfolio companies
Contact: gv.com
No pitch deck yet? Start with this template
12. Founders Fund
Peter Thiel's fund backing ambitious drone companies.
Investment focus: Defense tech, breakthrough applications
Investment range: Series A to late stage, $5M-$100M+
Notable investments: Anduril, SpaceX (drone-adjacent)
Contact: foundersfund.com
13. Accel
Global VC with growing drone portfolio.
Investment focus: Drone software, marketplaces, enterprise solutions
Investment range: Seed to Series C, $1M-$50M
Notable investments: DroneDeploy, Flytrex
Contact: accel.com
14. Y Combinator
Top accelerator funding drone startups.
Investment focus: All drone applications, early stage
Investment range: $500K standard deal
Notable investments: Zipline, Flirtey, many others
Contact: ycombinator.com
15. True Ventures
Early-stage investor in drone innovation.
Investment focus: Drone software, data analytics, novel applications
Investment range: Seed to Series A, $1M-$10M
Notable investments: Peloton Technology, Blue River (drone-adjacent)
Contact: trueventures.com
16. Shasta Ventures
Silicon Valley firm with hardware expertise.
Investment focus: Enterprise drones, B2B applications
Investment range: Seed to Series B, $2M-$20M
Notable investments: Multiple drone portfolio companies
Contact: shastaventures.com
17. Playground Global
Hardware-focused incubator and fund.
Investment focus: Drone hardware innovation, new form factors
Investment range: Pre-seed to Series A, $500K-$10M
Notable investments: Several stealth drone companies
Contact: playground.global
18. Techstars (Various Programs)
Multiple accelerators with drone focus.
Investment focus: All drone applications
Investment range: $120K standard program
Notable investments: 50+ drone startups across programs
Contact: techstars.com
19. SOSV / HAX
Hardware accelerator with strong drone track record.
Investment focus: Drone hardware, components, new designs
Investment range: $250K accelerator program
Notable investments: 30+ drone hardware startups
Contact: sosv.com
20. Seraphim Capital
Space and drone focused investor.
Investment focus: Drone data, aerial intelligence, space-adjacent
Investment range: Seed to Series B, £500K-£10M
Notable investments: Altitude Angel, multiple UK drone companies
Contact: seraphimcapital.co.uk
21. Drone Fund (Japan)
Dedicated drone investment fund by Kotaro Chiba.
Investment focus: Global drone startups, Japan market entry
Investment range: Seed to Series A, $100K-$5M
Notable investments: 50+ drone companies globally
Contact: dronefund.vc
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22. Starburst Ventures
Aerospace accelerator and fund.
Investment focus: Aerospace tech, drones, space
Investment range: Pre-seed to Series A, $100K-$2M
Notable investments: Iris Automation, uAvionix
Contact: starburst.aero
23. Cathay Innovation
Global VC with mobility focus.
Investment focus: Urban air mobility, logistics drones
Investment range: Series A to C, $5M-$30M
Notable investments: Multiple mobility companies
Contact: cathayinnovation.com
24. UP.Partners
Mobility-focused fund including drones.
Investment focus: Moving people and goods, drone logistics
Investment range: Seed to Series B, $1M-$25M
Notable investments: Beta Technologies, Reliable Robotics
Contact: up.partners
25. JetBlue Ventures
Airline's investment arm exploring new aviation.
Investment focus: Urban air mobility, cargo drones, passenger drones
Investment range: Series A to C, $1M-$10M
Notable investments: Joby Aviation, multiple drone companies
Contact: jetblueventures.com
What drone investors actually want
Forget the cool tech. Here's what gets meetings:
Money talks
Show $12 per delivery vs competitor's $25. Or 3-hour inspections done in 20 minutes. Real numbers from real flights.
Skip the renders
100 logged flight hours beats any PowerPoint. Paid pilot with Chevron beats LOI from nobody. One crashed drone taught you more than 10,000 simulations.
Pick a boring problem
Everyone wants to deliver packages. Nobody wants to inspect sewage pipes. Guess which gets funded.
Infrastructure inspection. Indoor warehouses. Crop disease detection. Specific and unsexy wins.
Team gaps kill deals
Software founder? Get an aerospace engineer. Never shipped hardware? Find someone who has. No FAA connections? You're dead.
First slide test
If slide one doesn't show expensive problem with number attached, delete your deck. Seriously.
Example: "Pipeline inspection costs $50K per mile using helicopters."
Not: "We're revolutionizing autonomous flight."
Alternative funding sources
Government Money (No Equity)
SBIR
Air Force wants counter-drone tech. $1.5M checks.
Navy needs maritime surveillance. $2M available.
Apply at sbir.gov
DIU
90-day contracts. $500K-$5M typical.
They actually move fast.
diu.mil
State Grants
Ohio: $250K for drone companies
North Dakota: Free test site access
Oklahoma: $1M aerospace incentives
Google "[your state] UAS funding"
Corporate Partners
Delivery
UPS Flight Forward invests and gives contracts
FedEx Innovation Lab co-develops
Contact through their venture arms
Agriculture
John Deere: Investment + distribution deal
Bayer: Crop monitoring partnerships
Find them at agriculture trade shows
Energy
Shell Ventures: shell.com/ventures
Chevron Tech Ventures: chevron.com/ctv
Direct pitch for inspection use cases
Drone Accelerators
Genius NY
$3M total funding. Syracuse.
Biggest drone program globally.
geniusny.com
Techstars Mobility
$120K. Detroit. Auto industry connections.
techstars.com
HAX
$250K. Shenzhen/SF. Hardware focus.
hax.co
Success stories
Zipline - $2.75B Valuation
Started with blood delivery in Rwanda. Not sexy. Not consumer. Just saved lives.
Built fixed-wing when everyone built quadcopters. Flew farther. Carried more.
Now: 500,000 deliveries. 7 countries. Walmart partnership.
Lesson: Solve real problem first. Scale later.
Skydio - Beat DJI at Their Game
Couldn't compete on price. Competed on AI.
Self-flying drones for dangerous inspections. Enterprise only. US-made for defense contracts.
$230M raised. $2.2B valuation.
Lesson: Find angle incumbents can't match.
DroneDeploy - Pivoted to Win
Started building drones. Realized hardware is hell.
Pivoted to software. Works with any drone. Processes aerial data.
Now powers 5,000+ companies. $50M Series E.
Lesson: Software scales. Hardware doesn't.
What Killed the Others
Airware: $118M raised. Dead.
Built platform before market existed.
Lily: $34M pre-orders. Never shipped.
Pretty drone. No differentiation.
3DR: Tried to out-DJI DJI.
Lost $100M.
Pattern: Consumer plays die. Platforms too early die. Me-too products die.
Winners solve specific business problems.
How Ellty helps drone founders raise capital
You spend months perfecting your drone tech. Write a killer pitch deck. Send it to 50 investors.
Then... silence.
Are they interested? Did they even open it? Who did they forward it to?
With Ellty, drone founders see everything:
- Boeing HorizonX spent 12 minutes on your unit economics
- Bessemer forwarded to their hardware partner
- Lux Capital came back 3 times to review tech specs
No more blind follow-ups. Focus on investors actually engaged with your vision.
Plus protect your IP. Revoke access from investors who passed. Update flight data without resending.
Share and track your pitch deck
FAQs
What traction do drone investors need to see?
Hardware: 100+ flight hours, working prototype, Part 107 minimum
Software: 10 paying customers or $50K ARR
Service: One paid enterprise pilot
How much do drone VCs typically invest?
Pre-seed: $500K-$2M
Seed: $2M-$5M
Series A: $10M-$20M
Do I need aerospace experience?
Yes. If you don't have it, hire someone who does. FAA relationships critical.
Which drone investors are most active in 2025?
Bessemer, Lux Capital, Boeing HorizonX, Drone Fund. Focus on these first.
B2B or B2C drone startup?
B2B only. Consumer market belongs to DJI. Investors want enterprise/government sales.
How long does drone fundraising take?
6-9 months average. Hardware due diligence takes longer than software.
What kills most drone pitches?
No regulatory strategy (40%), weak unit economics (30%), competing directly with DJI (20%), no hardware experience on team (10%).
When should I start fundraising?
After FAA approval or paid enterprise pilot. Never during pure R&D phase.
US vs international drone investors?
US: Largest pool but want FAA compliance
Europe: EASA regulations more progressive
Asia: Fast deployment but IP protection concerns
What's the typical exit timeline?
7-10 years. Drone companies aren't quick flips. Deep tech timeline.
