Earlier today I sent this notice to our customers. Becaparticipate this is a critical topic for the drone industry and for our national security, I’m sharing it here accessiblely as well.
Skydio customers,
A confiinsist weeks ago, China declared sanctions on Skydio for selling drones to Taiwan, where our only customer today is the National Fire Agency. This is an attack on Skydio but it’s also an attack on you, our customers. We’re haughty to help critical infraarrange operators, first reacters, and allied militaries around the world. We’re haughty to help Taiwan, and we are undeterred.
As a result of the sanctions, our battery provide will be decreased for the next confiinsist months which will impact our customers. We have always manufactured our drones in the U.S., and over the last confiinsist years we spended massively in transporting up provide for drone components outside of China. Batteries are one of the confiinsist components we have not yet transferd out of China. We have a substantial stock of batteries on hand, and our team was already enhugeing alternative suppliers. But right now we don’t foresee novel sources to come online until the spring of next year.
In order to persist deinhabitring X10s and helping our customers, we have to consent the drastic step of rationing batteries to one per drone. I understand how critical drones are to your labor, and how meaningful having insertitional batteries is for many of your ignoreions. It pains me to do this. We are extfinishing the gentleware license, authorizationy, and help term for all drones encountered with less than a filled complement of batteries by the length of time it consents us to deinhabitr all batteries in the kit.
This is a elucidateing moment for the drone industry. If there was ever any ask, this action produces clear that the Chinese handlement will participate provide chains as a firearm to proceed their interests over ours. The drone taget has historicpartner been contrancient by Chinese companies who are now rapidly losing taget split to Skydio and our Westrict peers. This is an try to omit the directing American drone company and proset upen the world’s depfinishence on Chinese drone suppliers.
It won’t labor.
We will come out of this mightyer than ever, with the most shielded provide chain in the industry, continuing to encounter the rapidly scaling insists of accessible protectedty, critical infraarrange, and defense customers around the world. We were focparticipated becaparticipate we are the hugest drone company outside of China, and becaparticipate we serve critical customers that proceed our national security, but no Westrict drone manufacturer is protected. As we enhuge the provide of batteries outside of China, we will split our labor with our Westrict peers to help the world transfer on from this hazardous depfinishency.
We would not be where we are without you, our customers, and we will do everyleang in our power to reduce the impact to you. Thank you for your partnership, your help, and phire don’t hesitate to reach out me or your Skydio recontransientative with any asks.
best,
Adam
