In the history of DJI, there are many dazzling global firsts.
Founded in 2006, the drone technology company has released the world's first aerial photography all-in-one aircraft, the world's first professional integrated multi-rotor aircraft, the world's first flying camera, the world's first deformable aerial camera with its own 4K camera, and so on...
Photo: DJI VR+ Unmanned Aerial System
DJI has a place in all apple stores around the world — in a sense, DJI's products are chosen for quality and high-end life.
DJI was once chosen, and capital.
Sequoia Capital China, Vision Capital, Maxing Investment, China Star Light, New Horizon Capital, Accel Partners, the list of capital behind DJI is like a star arching the moon, pushing up its value - although it is not listed, the highest valuation of DJI is 160 billion.
Capital pursuit, strong financing, excellent products, consumer-grade drone overlords, everything shines with halo of DJI, but in 2020, it was exploded by investors of the year:
Since the high-priced investment in DJI, enterprises have had little communication with them, there is no news of listing, and the exit is far away.
Subsequently, DJI was exposed to layoffs and product quality problems. Finally, after experiencing policy bans, black flights and the global trade war, the once brilliant DJI has become a disturbing technology bubble and a capital outcast - there has been no news of DJI financing for a long time, and the listing is far away.
DJI, from the top of the drone fell into an ordinary company.
Therefore, it must be transformed, and DJI must find its old self from the new market.
Today's DJI is no longer just a drone manufacturing company, but also an AI company. Its business also spans image control, intelligent in-vehicle systems, and even programmable robotics education.
Photo/DJI Imaging System
On the other hand, the AI technology developed by deep ploughing the drone business is used by DJI in other fields. Examples include agricultural spraying, automatic obstacle avoidance in cars, image tracking or object recognition – DJI has collectively referred to its own intelligent technology as the AI intelligence engine.
Now, the new business extended by this intelligent engine is expanding year by year, but it still accounts for only 25% of the total business volume.
However, AI for DJI is the future and the present. DJI should tell the story of AI to the capital market, and also use AI technology to incubate a new future.
DJI takes time.
25% of new businesses
DJI once mentioned the ideal revenue structure for the future in a financing material issued to investment institutions: 50% is drones, 25% is from the imaging sector, and 25% is from new businesses.
What is the new business? It's all about AI.
For example, the medical imaging AI market, the AI education market, robot research and development, etc. - all new businesses revolve around vision, algorithms, image processing, and integrated chip technology, becoming an integrated artificial intelligence "emerging industry".
Why focus on DJI, not work well, and extend its tentacles to other fields?
In recent years, consumer-grade drones have not been easy to do.
For example, the state has promulgated a number of air traffic control policies for UAV safety, which have caused consumer-grade UAVs to suffer heavy blows - drones with a take-off weight of more than 250 grams must be registered. The establishment of no-fly zones in many places has left consumer-grade drones with nowhere to fly, and has also made "black flying" incidents frequent, and DJI, as the top seat in the field of consumer-grade drones, is naturally deeply implicated in sales.
In 2020, the DroneAnalyst 2020 Drone Market Sector Report noted that DJI's share of the drone market fell from 74% in 2018 to 69% in 2019, the first time the Market share of the Chinese drone manufacturing giant has declined since drone analysts began collecting data in 2016.
In addition, DJI, which is frequently rumored to be listed, has not had the "latest news" appear. You know, DJI's $20 billion valuation is still in 2018, and now it is more or less, and the official has not disclosed it.
DJI told 50% of the drone story, 25% of the video story, and then it was time to tell 25% of the new business. After all, as an artificial intelligence company, DJI's highlight is actually AI technology - it is enough to support the 25% of the business.
This also explains why Sequoia Capital, an investor in DJI, asked Wang Tao what help he needed, and Wang Tao's answer was unexpected: "Help DJI hold a robot event." Later, hosting robot events became almost a tradition in DJI.
Now, DJI must come up with that 25 percent of new business, either to open up new markets or add new features to its products.
What is DJI's AI?
DJI, which is flying in the air, is now "landing".
In the post-2020 outbreak of the new crown epidemic, although DJI drone sales have maintained a relatively stable performance, it also understands that the business cannot be tied to the tree of drones.
So with years of AI research and development experience accumulated in drones, DJI is doing things in other fields.
In terms of products, DJI has released action cameras, camera stabilizers, developed programmable robots, car operating platforms and even microphones, and the most significant feature of these products is that they are embedded in the AI attributes developed by it in the field of unmanned aerial vehicles.
Photo/ DJI robot car
For example, the focus tracking function of the action camera, the technology comes from the object focus in the drone camera; the AI programmable robot automatic obstacle avoidance, the technology comes from the analysis and recognition function of the drone on the object; and the ultra-long-distance signal transmission of the microphone, and the wireless transmission technology in the drone is also indispensable.
Photo/ DJI Action Camera
Technically, these AI "extracted" from drones have also begun to learn "things on the ground" - DJI engineers train machines in the laboratory, analyze data, simulate landing scenarios, and the original ai in the air can be used on different fields of hardware.
As a result, crop protection machines can identify potato-sized plants in the sky; camera stabilization systems can track people or objects in high-speed sports such as skiers; and lidar released by Livox, a subsidiary incubated in DJI, can accurately detect objects in front of it.
When DJI knocks on the door of another market with new products and new businesses, the new field is not like the drone market, DJI is leading the way, this time, DJI faces many opponents.
Technology is beautiful, and the market is hard to do
With AI technology in hand, DJI usually has two ways to enter the market, one is to enter directly, and the other is to use technology to make wedding dresses for others.
For example, in the field of smart cars, DJI has been preparing for 5 years.
DJI's interest in cars began in 2015, when DJI's R&D center in Silicon Valley hired Darren Ricciardo, who had previously worked on autopilot technology at Tesla, and Rob Schlabo, a senior engineer at Apple (mainly responsible for antenna design).
Two years later, in August 2017, DJI released another job posting to hire an automotive review editor. According to this news, the media speculated that DJI was silently building cars.
DJI's public relations department rushed out to refute the rumors:
"You don't know how big DJI's business is. From the big point of view, they are all artificial intelligence products. Because it is a special project, we do not do open recruitment at present. At this stage, you will not be allowed to test DJI's own products, but will start with other brands. ”
This meaningful reply means that DJI is developing something related to cars, but DJI does not build its own cars.
Sure enough, in 2019, DJI began to cooperate with car companies and promote autonomous driving technology, and by 2020, it has completed software and hardware solutions in the automotive field. DJI's main business in the automotive direction revolves around a full set of hardware and software solutions, including intelligent driving project research and development, visual processing technology, path planning, etc.
But in this field, DJI is not invincible, the "AI Four Little Dragons" and even major car companies, new car-making forces have their own research and development teams, DJI manufacturing smart car wedding dress who to wear, but also full of unknowns.
In other areas, such as the global sports camera market of 48.36 million units in 2021, DJI from pocket cameras to modular cameras, using a variety of AI technologies such as stable image stabilization and precise focus pursuit, but the opponents are still strong - such as Gopro, Insta360 and other industry giants and rising stars, not only have the world's top camera technology, but also in the design and sponsorship of extreme sports events, are called industry benchmarks.
DJI, which masters AI technology, may have obtained industry admission tickets, but it still has a long way to go in the world.
Similarly, DJI, which vows to "gain a leading edge in the agricultural drone market even after three years of loss", also uses the most advanced AI technology in the niche field of agricultural drones - agricultural drones can use AI at high altitude to identify information about different plants and spray chemicals differently according to different planting tablets.
Photo: DJI Agricultural Equipment
In this mountain, DJI's competitors also have veteran drone companies such as EHang and Jifei Technology, and although DJI is technologically mature, the pace of walking the market is not smooth.
Based on AI, the various technologies developed by DJI are very pragmatic, the technology into products is very grounded, and there are few illusory concept technologies, most of which are full of artificial intelligence's sense of science and technology and humanistic care.
However, with these technologies, if you want to find your once brilliant self, get the first chair and the "world's first model" in more markets, DJI has a long road and many tests.
(Source|.) AI Blue Media Collection Author | Black Sheep)