A $70 billion unicorn has set its sights on drones. Is DJI facing its toughest rival?

The calm drone market has welcomed a heavyweight newcomer - Insta360!

Many onlooker netizens are curious. Why does a leading camera company cross over into the drone business? And what impact will it have on DJI, the "king of drones"?

Is the "newcomer" fearless?

At 9 p.m. on July 28th, Insta360 officially announced its Antigravity panoramic drone brand. This new product, jointly incubated by Insta360 and a third - party, will weigh less than 249 grams, according to media report from NotebookCheck, to meet the EU's Class C0 drone standard.

Judging from the exposed spy photos, the model with self - contained propeller blade protection shells looks similar to a racing drone, resembling DJI's Neo palm - sized Vlog drone. The model with the word "Antigravity" marked on the side looks like a traditional aerial photography drone, with a raised shape on the top.

It is reported that the first Antigravity drone will support 8K and 360 - degree panoramic video recording. Antigravity plans to officially release this drone in August. Although the specific time and confirmed product name have not been announced yet, from the official's extremely cool TVC, its ambition to revolutionize the way of flying and subvert the industry pattern is evident!

Picture: Screenshot from Insta360's official TVC

One can't help but wonder: Where does this "newcomer" get the confidence to talk about revolution and subversion?

In fact, in the panoramic camera and action camera fields, Insta360, founded in 2015, has been deeply involved for a decade. It has developed from an unknown small factory into a globally renowned leader in intelligent imaging devices. Its core brand, Insta360, and its series of products are extremely popular both at home and abroad, even creating a scene where Americans queued up to buy them.

It is worth mentioning that Liu Jingkang, the founder of Insta360, like Wang Tao, the founder of DJI, has a bit of a legendary color of not wanting to be defined by the secular world and wanting to carve out his own path. Moreover, both of them exude an air of genius arrogance early on:

Liu Jingkang is a post - 90s native of Zhongshan, Guangdong. He graduated from Nanjing University. During his college years, he demonstrated remarkable technical talent - he became well - known for cracking the phone number of Zhou Hongyi, the founder of 360.

Wang Tao, a post - 80s native of Hangzhou, Zhejiang, also had amazing experiences in his college days. After spending three years in the Department of Electronics at East China Normal University, he resolutely dropped out of school and later went to the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology for further studies, just to pursue knowledge about drones, which he was most interested in.

According to authoritative statistics from Frost & Sullivan, in 2023, Insta360 ranked first globally in the panoramic camera field, with a market share as high as 67.2%. In the action camera field, it also ranked second, only after GoPro. As Liu Jingkang revealed during his appearance on the program "Shanghai Stock Exchange · Hard Science and Technology Guests", as of the current time in 2025, Insta360's share in the panoramic camera field has approached 70%.

However, it must be admitted that in the drone field, Insta360 is still in the "beginner stage". By the year when Insta360 was founded, DJI had already established a firm foothold in the drone industry. Its record of being the global number one for eight consecutive years has made it almost synonymous with drones - it's no exaggeration to describe it as having absolute dominance.

So, it's not easy to challenge such an "industry authority". But Liu Jingkang has the courage of a newborn calf not fearing the tiger.

Going back to August 15, 2024, Liu Jingkang posted on his WeChat Moments, asking relevant regulatory authorities for an explanation, which sparked widespread discussions. At that time, countless industry insiders praised his courage. In the author's opinion, the core lies in his confidence - he believes that the IPO of an excellent company should not be "blocked".

On June 11, 2025, Insta360 officially listed on the A - share market with the title of "the first stock in intelligent imaging". Liu Jingkang finally realized his dream of listing. On the listing day, the opening price was 182 yuan per share, a sharp increase of 285% compared with the issue price, and the total market value directly exceeded 70 billion yuan. As of July 29, 2025, before the publication of this article, Insta360's total market value was still as high as 70 billion yuan, indicating the capital market's favor for it.

On July 29th, according to Yicai's report, Insta360's founder posted on his WeChat Moments today, expressing respect for DJI: "When the top runner in a marathon leads, you will also run faster." Liu Jingkang also said that the reasons for the company to enter the drone business include seeing unmet customer needs, market growth potential, and the ability to drive the company's growth.

By now, Liu Jingkang's ambition for the drone field is ready to be realized...

Is the cross - over due to an "emotional attachment"?

Coincidentally, just a few days before Insta360 officially announced its entry into the drone market, DJI officially announced that its first panoramic camera would be released at 8 p.m. on July 31st. And because it supports high - specification 360 - degree panoramic video recording at 8K 30FPS or 4K 120FPS, it is generally regarded by the outside world as a product targeting Insta360's flagship X series.

For a moment, like two titans who had made an appointment, the two giants invaded each other's territories!

The extremely low - key Wang Tao did not disclose to the media DJI's intention to make panoramic cameras and even sweepers. But in the author's opinion, the core logic is roughly the same as that of Liu Jingkang - both saw the incremental opportunities in each other's dominant/comfort zones!

As the saying goes, the winner takes all. Just seeing the opportunity is not enough. They both firmly believe they can get a share of the pie. Why? Maybe we can get a glimpse from the "unique skills" held by these two segment leaders.

As of now, DJI has accumulated over 2,600 patents. It is in a leading position in the industry in flight control systems and stability, image transmission delay control, and obstacle - avoidance core algorithms. It also has significant advantages in the vertical industrial chain integration of self - developed motors, chips, and gimbal systems.

It is worth mentioning that DJI also has unparalleled brand premium power. Research shows that 68% of users are willing to pay a 20% premium for DJI products, which means that in the high - end product market, DJI has successfully built a very solid consumer perception.

In terms of channels, DJI, which has swept the global market, opened its first North American store on the prime Fifth Avenue in New York in 2024. Through promotion on community media platforms such as YouTube and TikTok, its influence in the United States is beyond imagination. The continuous growth of government and enterprise orders from the Middle East and Southeast Asian markets has also become an important buffer for it to resist uncontrollable risks in the European and American markets.

"When others say it's impossible, it's the time for us to prove ourselves." This motto of Wang Tao of DJI may be very appropriate to describe Liu Jingkang, who is also brave enough to take on tough challenges.

Like DJI, Insta360 has incorporated a focus on R & D investment into its genes since its establishment. According to its public prospectus, the cumulative R & D investment in the past three years has reached 1.48 billion yuan, accounting for 13.16% of the cumulative revenue. As of the end of 2024, R & D and technical personnel accounted for 57.68% of the company, and it had 900 domestic and foreign authorized patents, including 189 invention patents.

Recently, Insta360 plans to raise 1.938 billion yuan, mainly for the "Construction Project of Intelligent Imaging Equipment Production Base" and the "Construction Project of Shenzhen R & D Center". The relevant funds will focus on the expansion of the intelligent imaging equipment industrial chain and the R & D of cutting - edge technologies, covering core directions such as optical imaging, AI algorithms, and robot visual perception, further strengthening the company's technological moat in the intelligent imaging field.

Insta360 adheres to a combination of online and offline channels and has a stable position in developed countries and regions such as the United States, Japan, and Europe. Once its drone products are successfully tested, it can directly copy the successful experience of the camera field for global promotion.

In addition, Insta360 cameras have accumulated a good reputation in the cycling, self - driving, and Vlog circles. With the continuous heating up of consumption scenarios such as live - streaming e - commerce, short videos, and outdoor fitness, the opportunity for Insta360 to expand its second growth pole in business may have arrived!

Brands like DJI and Insta360, which are not only brave enough to go global and compete overseas but also dare to cross - over into different fields, have not only boosted the influence of Chinese consumer electronics brands in the global market and promoted the vigorous development of related industrial chains but also made countless consumers start to disenchant foreign big brands...

This is the ultimate significance!

As for how much of the panoramic camera market originally belonging to Insta360 can DJI capture? And how much of the drone market originally belonging to DJI can Insta360 seize?

Maybe it's no longer important!

Reference materials

Insta360's prospectus

Insta360 founder Liu Jingkang responds to entering the drone market and talks about DJI - Wall Street News

A post - 90s Bay Area entrepreneur creates a unicorn worth 68 billion yuan, and a new member joins the "Bay Area - made" listing army - Yangcheng Evening News

DJI in 2025: The battle at the boundary of technological divinity and the strategic breakthrough of sweepers - Stock Market Harvest

Insta360 officially announces its Antigravity drone brand: Weighs less than 249 grams - IT Home

This article is from the WeChat official account "Internet Breaking News Collection" (ID: BLH01888), and is published by 36Kr with authorization.