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已經涌現為新興民用無人機市場領軍者之一的中國DJI公司從硅谷風險投資商阿克塞爾合伙公司(Accel Partners)籌集到7500萬美元。
這筆交易將總部設在中國深圳的DJI的市場估值定在約80億美元。據一位了解交易情況的人說，這是阿克塞爾有史以來最大的一筆投資。該人要求匿名。
對公司極高的估值反映了DJI在無人機市場的快速增長，這個市場已經讓公眾著迷。盡管在像美國這樣的國家，監管和執法部門仍在努力設法解決向帶有相機的無人機開放天空所帶來的安全和隱私風險問題，只要遵守一定的規則，業余愛好者們就可以隨便放飛像DJI生產的Phantom那樣的無人機。而監管機構也開始放松對無人機商業使用、比如航空攝影和檢查作物的限制。亞馬遜公司(Amazon)正在測試用無人機投遞小包裹。
“我們投資的規模確實顯示了我們認為這個機會能有多大，”阿克塞爾合伙人薩米爾·甘地(Sameer Gandhi)說，這家風投公司在Facebook的早期投資最為人知。公司也入股了其它初創公司，比如Dropbox和Slack。
DJI已涌現為無人機市場最耀眼的名字之一。它的Phantom 2無人機是有四個水平旋翼的直升機，起價為859美元(約合5330元人民幣)，而像“悟”Inspire 1這樣的高端機型起價為2900美元。今年一月，被情報機構一名下了班的員工醉酒后意外墜落在白宮草地上的就是一架Phantom無人機。
《福布斯》雜志(Forbes)周二發表了一篇介紹DJI的文章，文章說，DJI今年的銷售額有望超過10億美元。與之相比，公司去年的營收大約為5億美元，利潤為120萬美元。另一位知曉DJI財政狀況的人士證實了這些數字的準確性，但要求不具名，因為公司尚未公開發布數字。
另一家硅谷投資公司紅杉資本(Sequoia Capital)去年向DJI投資了約3000萬美元。
其它無人機制造商也在垂涎這一市場。上個月，加州伯克利的無人機制造商3DR從一群風險投資家和企業投資方募集到640萬美元，3DR的創始人之一是克里斯·安德森(Chris Anderson)，他曾是《連線》(Wired)雜志的主編。
阿克塞爾的甘地把DJI的增長描述為中國技術公司的轉折點，因為人們往往認為中國技術公司靠山寨美國和其他國家的創新為生。
甘地說，“這是首次，你看到一家國際公司、一家中國公司作為創新者。坦率地說，這家公司超越了世界其他地區的所有活動，從創新的角度來看，真正成為了其他人都在追逐的公司。”（m.erdostxps.com）
DJI, the Chinese company that has emerged as one of the leaders in the burgeoning civilian market for drones, has raised $75 million from Accel Partners, the Silicon Valley venture capital firm.
The deal values DJI, which is based in Shenzen, China, at about $8 billion, according to one person briefed on the deal who spoke on condition of anonymity. It is one of Accel’s largest investments ever.
The soaring valuation for the company reflects DJI’s rapid growth in drones, a market that has captivated the public even as regulators and law enforcement in countries like the United States grapple with the safety and privacy risks of opening the skies to unmanned aircraft with cameras. Hobbyists are free to fly drones like the Phantom from DJI as long as they obey certain rules, while regulators are beginning to relax restrictions on their commercial uses, like aerial photography and inspecting crops. Amazon is testing drones for delivering small packages.
“The size of our investment really shows how big we think the opportunity can become,” said Sameer Gandhi, a partner at Accel, which is best known for its early investment in Facebook. It also has stakes in other start-ups like Dropbox and Slack.
DJI has emerged as the one of most prominent names in the market. Its Phantom 2 drone, a copter with four rotors, starts at $859, while higher-end models like the Inspire 1 start at $2,900. It was a Phantom drone that an intoxicated off-duty intelligence agency employee accidentally crashed onto the grounds of the White House in January.
Forbes on Tuesday published a profile of DJI in which it said that DJI was on track to exceed $1 billion in sales this year, compared with about $500 million in revenue last year and $120 million in profit. Another person familiar with DJI’s finances confirmed the accuracy of those figures, asking for anonymity because the company has not publicly released them.
Sequoia Capital, another Silicon Valley investment firm, invested around $30 million in DJI last year.
Other drone makers are angling for a piece of the market, too. Last month, 3DR, a drone maker in Berkeley, Calif., one of whose founders is Chris Anderson, a former editor of Wired magazine, raised $64 million from a group of venture capitalists and corporate investors.
Mr. Gandhi of Accel described the growth of DJI as a watershed moment for a Chinese technology company, because such companies are often thought of as copying innovations from companies in the United States and elsewher.
“For one of the first times, you’re seeing an international company, a Chinese company, being the innovator and frankly leapfrogging all activity in other parts of the world and truly being the company everyone is chasing from an innovation point of view,” Mr. Gandhi said.
