“The report is an assessment of roughly 400 global companies whose core business is to offer services with drones to third parties…A distinction is made between remote-sensing (Top 40) and delivery (Top 20) drone service providers.”
The drone industry has grown dramatically since DRONELIFE first covered the Drone Service Providers Report in 2018. This year’s list of includes some companies found in last years’ list – and some new ones. Providers are segmented by vertical, like Remote Sensing and Drone Delivery.
Top 3 Remote-Sensing Drone Service Providers
Top 3 Delivery Providers
The top players in drone delivery demonstrate the diversity in the sector. Drone heroes Zipline take the number one position: they’ve achieved unprecedented scale delivering critical medical supplies on the African continent and continued to grow in Asia and North America. #2 is Google spin-off Wing, with a successful residential drone delivery program in Australia and the U.S., combined with their airspace intelligence app OpenSky and their UTM efforts. The third spot goes to Swiss company Matternet, delivering medical supplies in partnership with UPS in the U.S. and developing international delivery partnerships in Asia and the Middle East.
This year’s ranking shows that there are some established companies that have been able to secure a firm place in the Drone Service Provider Ranking in recent years. On the other hand, new companies continue to make it to the top spots through funding, mergers and acquisitions, and/or good work. While there is a higher fluctuation among remote-sensing drone providers, it is more consistent among delivery service providers. This could be due to higher entry barriers to entry and thus fewer new players venturing into the delivery market.
Miriam McNabb is the Editor-in-Chief of DRONELIFE and CEO of JobForDrones, a professional drone services marketplace, and a fascinated observer of the emerging drone industry and the regulatory environment for drones. Miriam has penned over 3,000 articles focused on the commercial drone space and is an international speaker and recognized figure in the industry. Miriam has a degree from the University of Chicago and over 20 years of experience in high tech sales and marketing for new technologies.
For drone industry consulting or writing, Email Miriam.
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