Mark Walter is buying majority ownership of the Lakers at a $10 billion valuation, reports ESPN. Walter runs TWG Global, which owns chunks of other sports teams, and also owns a fun grab-bag of other companies, including Shield AI and Slate Auto. LeBron-themed pickup truck when?
It sounds ridiculous when I say it out loud: A Chinese company wants to be audited by the US government, and it’s asking you for help!
But it’s true: Every new DJI product will be banned from import as soon as December, unless a gov agency positively confirms the dronemaker doesn’t pose a national security threat. “More than six months have passed, and that process still hasn’t begun as far as we can tell,” writes DJI.
Ek’s investment company Prima Materia dumped its first €100 million in Helsing, the German defense tech group with roots in AI software, back in 2021. Now it’s leading a €600 million round to capitalize on the shift to drone warfare. Per the Financial Times:
“The world is being tested in more ways than ever before. That has sped up the timeline” for Helsing’s financing, Ek said, pointing in particular to the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, where drones and other AI-powered systems have been deployed at scale for the first time. “There’s an enormous realisation that it’s really now AI, mass and autonomy that is driving the new battlefield.”
Almost every single thing in Friday’s executive order is about uplifting the drone industry and cutting through red tape (at the potential expense of safety), not about cracking down on the China-based leading manufacturer of drones. But as I noted last week, Trump doesn’t need to lift a finger. The ban on future DJI products happens automatically unless he steps in.
[whitehouse.gov]
The Washington Post is reporting he’s expected to sign executive orders on drones next week, suggesting they could “end Chinese drone sales in the US.”
That might be true, but the main action WaPo describes is “the executive order could direct the U.S. intelligence community to accelerate reviews of whether Chinese drone makers DJI and Autel are national security risks” — which is exactly what DJI would like the US to do. DJI products will be automatically banned unless an agency finishes that review. If there’s a review, there’s a chance.
DJI said it wouldn’t, but it weirdly did anyhow. Now, the company won’t answer our questions about the launch at all. How did Adorama obtain a shipment of drones? Will DJI honor the preorders at B&H? Does any other retailer have a shipment? Will DJI honor its warranty on those sales?
“We are unable to provide any additional information at this time,” DJI spokesperson Daisy Kong tells The Verge. Adorama’s pages now say “temporarily unavailable”; B&H has “suspended backorders” for now.
The company hasn’t revealed what model it’s announcing on May 13th, 2025, but a teaser video shared to its X account shows a drone with a triple camera array similar to what the DJI Mavic 3 Pro uses. Next week could see the debut of the DJI Mavic 4 Pro, as DroneDJ speculates, with an upgraded stabilized camera system that can roll to facilitate video capture in portrait mode like the DJI Mini 4 Pro.
“Skydio has produced a total of 45,000 drones,” reports Bloomberg Businessweek, as part of a good profile of the self-flying dronemaker. Skydio spokesperson Kiersten Bagley tells me it’s more than 45,000, but still under 50K.
Am I surprised that a company which pivoted from consumer and still assembles products in pricy Silicon Valley isn’t making more? No — but it shows that Skydio’s still small. The global drone market was already measured in millions back in 2017; DJI has sold over 300,000 agricultural drones alone.
[bloomberg.com]
Wired reports that Amazon has reduced the number of drone flights under its Prime Air delivery service in College Station, Texas, and is looking to relocate its hub within the city following noise complaints from nearby residents.
Correction, March 3rd: This post originally included a video that said Amazon’s drones exceed 71db of noise. The video was a “simulation” created by a resident, measuring a chainsaw. Amazon spokesperson Sam Stephenson did not provide dB readings for the drones in question, but pointed to CNBC’s reporting of a separate city test of the drone that found it within the 47-61 dB range. Since then, Amazon introduced the MK30, which reduced the perceived volume by half, the company says.
Amazon told Bloomberg it’s making software changes and temporarily pausing commercial flights, but that it expects to restart deliveries once it pushes the fixes and gets a green light from the FAA.
That’s the big question online — because the unique bicycle-spoke folding drone isn’t smaller or more powerful than DJI’s Mini drones. But it’s inexpensive, does do a few things they don’t — yet — and it’s fun to fold and unfold! Check it out in my video:
Some good quality-of-life updates for drone pilots in the US: DJI is ditching its own 12-year old geofencing system in favor of one with official FAA datasets. This update should help pilots better understand where they’re allowed to fly and avoid unintended flights in restricted zones.
Previous NFZs (No Fly Zones) are being replaced with Enhanced Warning Zones. Just make sure you get your authorization from FAA first.
[viewpoints.dji.com]
Two people have been arrested in California for flying unauthorized drones in areas impacted by the LA wildfires, according to a police report seen by Deadline.
The arrests follow a collision last Thursday between a civilian drone and a “Super Scooper” that was fighting the blazes, grounding the plane. The FAA says it’s investigating the incident. LA airspace restrictions are in place until January 25th.
According to this New York Times writeup, the first noted sighting was from a contractor enjoying a sandwich and a podcast while enjoying nature, who saw something in his rearview mirror.
Now, the unnamed man says:
As he’s watched the drone frenzy spread across the country, he said he can’t help but worry he’s to blame.
“I feel,” he said, “like I’ve caused mass hysteria.”
[The New York Times]
The FAA banned drone flights temporarily in 22 areas a few weeks ago. Bans for parts of New York closely followed, and as CBS News reports, the list grew a bit longer this week, with warnings that the government ‘may use deadly force’ on UAVs flying there.
The new Temporary Flight Restriction (TFR) areas are over Paulsboro, Westville, South Kearny, Port Reading, Atlantic Highlands, Belford, Fort Hancock, Highlands, and Linden through January 18th.
From January to October 2024, prisons in the two countries recorded 1,296 drone-related incidents, marking a tenfold increase from 2020, according to a report from The Guardian.
The UK Commons Justice Committee has since opened an inquiry into the issue, and will look into whether signal blockers and other technology can keep drones out of prison airspace, The Guardian reports.
“Oh right, because there’s beautiful nature, and good schools.”
Now that mystery drones have made it to SNL, does that mean the wave of hysteria and still-unsolved sightings is over?
While the FAA has restricted airspace access for drones over much of New Jersey, it’s also posted a video that might help people figure out which flying objects might be a plane, helicopter, or properly registered and authorized drone that’s just following the rules.
That way, people might stop shining lasers at planes, a problem the FAA says is up 300 percent in the area compared to last year, mostly from people who think they see something weird.
