Autel Robotics Co., Ltd. is a Chinese aerial drone manufacturer.

History

Autel Robotics Co., Ltd. was founded in 2014 in

Shenzhen Shenzhen is a prefecture-level city in the province of Guangdong, China. A Special economic zones of China, special economic zone, it is located on the east bank of the Pearl River (China), Pearl River estuary on the central coast of Guangdong ...

by Maxwell Lee and Li Hongjing. Maxwell Lee is a

Chinese American Chinese Americans are Americans of Chinese ancestry. Chinese Americans constitute a subgroup of East Asian Americans which also constitute a subgroup of Asian Americans. Many Chinese Americans have ancestors from mainland China, Hong Kong ...

entrepreneur. Autel Robotics has received government funding and support from the Chinese government. The company released its first drone called X-Star in 2015 in global markets and has other notable product lines, including the Evo and Dragon Fish series. In 2021 Autel Robotics had a 7% share of the UAV market in the United States. Its market share increased after leading rival DJI was restricted by the US government. Along with DJI their drones have been widely acquired by US law enforcement and government agencies. Concerns have frequently been raised about potential risks associated with this use, but significant evidence of risk has not been presented and there is criticism of those concerns. In 2023 at the

Consumer Electronics Show CES (; formerly an initialism for Consumer Electronics Show) is an annual trade show organized by the Consumer Technology Association (CTA). Held in January at the Las Vegas Convention Center in Winchester, Nevada, United States, the event typi ...

Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

Autel Robotics made its intention to surpass DJI in both technology and market share known. In 2023, Autel Robotics threatened to sue a researcher at the

American Enterprise Institute The American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research, known simply as the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), is a center-right think tank based in Washington, D.C., that researches government, politics, economics, and social welfare ...

for

defamation Defamation is a communication that injures a third party's reputation and causes a legally redressable injury. The precise legal definition of defamation varies from country to country. It is not necessarily restricted to making assertions ...

over an op-ed piece in ''

Defense News ''Defense News'' is a website and newspaper about the politics, business, and technology of national security published by Sightline Media Group. Founded in 1986, ''Defense News'' says it serves an audience of senior military, government, and in ...

'' that labeled their products a national security risk.

Organization

Autel Robotics Co., Ltd. used to be a subsidiary of Autel Intelligent Technology but was spun-off prior to Autel Intelligent Technology's IPO. In 2023 Autel Robotics had offices in China, Italy, the United States, Germany, and Singapore. The company's branch in the U.S. is located in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

Products

*EVO Nano+, ultra-light drone *EVO Lite, light drone with a 4k camera. Small enough that a

FAA remote ID The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is a U.S. federal government agency within the U.S. Department of Transportation that regulates civil aviation in the United States and surrounding international waters. Its powers include air traffi ...

is not required *EVO Lite +, light drone with a 5k camera *Autel EVO II V3, most popular model in 2023 *Autel EVO Max, intended for the emergency response market *EVO Max T4, intended to be a serious competitor to DJI's offering. It has increased autonomy, AI features, and an open architecture. Features a thermal camera as standard. *Dragonfish, fixed wing drone with VTOL capabilities *Dragonfish Lite, smaller version of the Dragonfish *Dragonfish Pro, a long range variant of the Dragonfish

Users

* U.S. Capitol Police, briefly operated Autel Robotics drones before being retired due to security concerns. The adoption of the drones was criticized by Senator

Ted Cruz Rafael Edward Cruz (; born December 22, 1970) is an American politician and attorney serving as the junior United States senator from Texas since 2013. A member of the Republican Party, Cruz was the solicitor general of Texas from 2003 ...

References

{{Use dmy dates, date=June 2024 Unmanned aerial vehicle manufacturers of China Manufacturing companies based in Shenzhen Chinese companies established in 2014 Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 2014 Chinese brands