Intel invested $60M to develop drones with Yuneec International
Intel Capital had invested $60M in China-based drone manufacturer Yuneec International Co. to produce drones that would help the industry in the future. The chipset company also invested on Airware and PrecisionHawk.
"At Intel we believe in a smart and connected world. And one of the best ways to bring that smart and connected world to everyone and everywhere has been drones," Brian Krzanich Intel CEO announced the $60M investment with Yuneec on Wednesday, reported Bloomberg.
"We've got drones on our roadmap that are going to truly change the world and revolutionize the drone industry." Krzanich added.
In a news from Forbes, Yuneec is an aerospace company that produces electric-powered planes and drones intended to be used in aerial imaging. The company is headquartered in Shanghai, China and was built in 1999.
TechCrunch emphasized that drone investments had been tripled as of May this year. Drone market continues to increase as more and more capital firms invest in drone startups.
The Wall Street Journal stated that Yuneec launched piloted airplanes first before they mastered designing UAV last year. The most notable Typhoon Q500 4K is sold for $1299. The Typhoon is embedded with an extremely high definition camera to smoothly cover events in an aerial view.
Tian Yu, founder of Yuneec distinguished his drones from the rest. He said his drones are much easier to use compared to others. Even newbies can set it up and control it in five minutes. It does not require any configuration.
Previously, Intel also funded other two drone companies; Airware and PrecisionHawk. Airware is a drone software company while PrecisionHawk is sensor hardware and data analytics provider.
The team up will focus on developing future drones for industry and individual use.
Intel and Yuneec did not divulge any further details about the project they would work on soon. But by taking a closer look at Intel's move, it appears that they are seeing a diversified profit through drones, aligning software, hardware and data analysis all at once.