DJI drone lands on the ground, while Insta360 drone flies into the sky.

Key points:

1. DJI and Insta360 are among the few brands in China's consumer electronics field that can truly define and lead the global market. Now, these two companies, which seem to be developing in parallel, are moving into each other's territory at the same time.

2. Wang Tao, the founder of DJI, and Liu Jingkang, the founder of Insta360, are both extreme product enthusiasts. However, their personalities are completely different. Wang Tao's deliberate low - key approach has shrouded him and DJI in a veil of mystery.

3. "When a company's market share exceeds 50%, it can no longer double its growth." Any company that reaches the peak of an industry must think about where its next growth point lies. For DJI and Insta360, the other's "first growth curve" is the answer.

4. The challenge for DJI is how to make the most of the social and content ecosystem. DJI's users tend to use the products and leave, while Insta360's users are more immersed. The challenge for Insta360 is how to overcome the technological barriers. Drones are an extremely complex systems engineering, not simply attaching a camera to wings.

DJI and Insta360 are among the few brands in China's consumer electronics field that can truly define and lead the global market.

DJI is the global leader in consumer drones, while Insta360 pioneered the 360 - degree panoramic action camera market. Both companies occupy more than 80% of the global market, and 70% of their revenues come from overseas.

Now, these two companies, which seem to be developing in parallel, are moving into each other's territory at the same time.

On July 31, DJI launched a panoramic camera called Osmo 360, priced at 3,799 yuan, precisely targeting Insta360's core market. This is not DJI's first foray into ground - based imaging devices, but it is the first time to launch a panoramic camera with such targeted technology and form.

Almost at the same time, Insta360 officially announced that it will launch a new panoramic drone brand - "Antigravity" through co - incubation with a third - party, stating that it aims to "redefine" the flying experience. This is also Insta360's first attempt to extend its imaging capabilities to the sky.

One is the king of the sky, choosing to land; the other is the pioneer on the ground, determined to take to the sky.

Why do these two companies, when their "first growth curves" are still growing steadily, break into each other's territories? And how can they grab a share of the market in the other's most proficient field?

Wang Tao and Liu Jingkang: Two Product Enthusiasts with Different Personalities

Wang Tao, the founder of DJI, and Liu Jingkang, the founder of Insta360, are both extreme product enthusiasts. However, their personalities are completely different.

Wang Tao rarely appears at public events. According to Tencent Technology, inside DJI, Wang Tao strictly requires all relevant departments not to spread his photos externally. The few high - definition photos of Wang Tao that can be found on the Internet are often misused by many media and are not actually him. This almost deliberate low - key approach has shrouded him and DJI in a veil of mystery.

This sense of mystery extends to DJI's product R & D process. Internally, Wang Tao is the supreme arbiter of products. It is rumored in the industry that the number of projects personally cancelled by Wang Tao is too numerous to count. DJI's attitude towards products is almost harsh, with extremely low tolerance for imperfection and failure. There is almost no culture of "make it first and then try it in the market" here. If a product does not meet the standards, it is better not to make it than to conduct "A/B testing".

This has shaped DJI's brand image of "not making a move unless it's a masterpiece". From the "Phantom" series that defined consumer drones, to the "Mavic" series that pioneered the era of foldable drones, and then to the leading position of the Ronin series in the handheld stabilizer market, every step of DJI is extremely solid and precise.

But beyond serious business decisions, Wang Tao also shows an idealistic technological sentiment. DJI's robotics education business is the best example. Whether it is the costly and seriously unbalanced RoboMaster competition for college students or the volunteer - based robotics vacation camp for high - school students, DJI invests without counting the cost.

An insider once revealed to us: "The boss (Wang Tao) thinks that this business should be done whether it makes money or not, and it must be done well." Behind this is not about business, but a top engineer's pure obsession with cultivating the next generation of technical talents.

In contrast, Liu Jingkang, the founder of Insta360, born in 1991, is a vivid and outgoing person, more in line with the era's imagination of a "new - generation entrepreneur". He will appear in person for interviews with the media and video bloggers, telling Insta360's story and his thoughts on products with clear logic and a sincere attitude. At Insta360's product launches, he will also take the stage to introduce each product detail and the story behind it.

If Wang Tao's pursuit of perfection is reflected in "subtraction", cutting out all imperfections, then Liu Jingkang's pursuit is more reflected in "addition", constantly adding creativity and gameplay around core technologies to expand the product boundaries.

In the first stage of Insta360, Liu Jingkang led the team to make the niche category of 360 - degree panoramic cameras number one in the world through technological innovation and accurate insight into user needs. They solved a series of pain points such as panoramic video stitching, anti - shake, and post - editing. With an app, ordinary users can easily create "cool" shots, which previously required professional equipment and complex post - production. This "hardware + software + community" model has built a solid business foundation and brand moat for Insta360.

Wang Tao and Liu Jingkang have shaped two companies with very different temperaments. DJI is like a well - disciplined heavy - armed army, making plans before taking action and aiming for a sure - hit. Insta360 is more like a flexible and agile special forces, iterating quickly and being good at guerrilla and surprise attacks.

Now, these two people with different personalities are looking at each other.

Landing and Taking Off: Both Eyeing the Other's First Growth Curve

Peter Norvig, the former director of Google Research, proposed that "when a company's market share exceeds 50%, it can no longer double its growth." This theorem points out that a company can only maintain growth through business expansion or transformation.

Therefore, any company that reaches the peak of an industry must think about the same question: where is the next growth point? For DJI and Insta360, the other's "first growth curve" is the answer.

DJI is already "lonely seeking a rival" in the consumer drone market. According to public data, its global market share has been stable at over 70% for years, and even exceeds 80% in some high - end markets. The absolute leading position in the market also means that the growth ceiling is approaching. The consumer drone market has entered a relatively stable replacement phase from the explosive growth phase.

In the past two or three years, the new product iterations of DJI's consumer drones have mostly been routine performance upgrades, similar to the "incremental improvement" in the smartphone field, lacking revolutionary breakthroughs. This is not because DJI's technology has stagnated, but the result of both market demand and technological bottlenecks. When the form and function of a category are defined to the extreme, any minor innovation requires huge R & D costs.

The anxiety about growth drives DJI to find new frontiers. Handheld imaging devices are the closest and most logical battlefield to drones. From the Osmo handheld gimbal to the Osmo Action action camera, DJI has been trying to "land". And the launch of the Osmo 360 panoramic camera this time is a more targeted attack. (Of course, DJI also launched the sweeping robot ROMO, which will not be discussed for now.)

The panoramic camera is not only a technology - intensive product but also an entry point to the content ecosystem. Its user profile highly overlaps with that of DJI drone users - outdoor enthusiasts, travelers, and video creators. DJI hopes to use an equally dominant imaging product to lock these users more deeply in its own ecosystem, covering the full - scenario imaging solutions from the sky (drones) to the ground (handheld devices).

For Insta360, challenging the sky is an "unavoidable" upward battle.

In a previous interview with LatePost, Liu Jingkang was asked, "So it seems that the door to the drone market is locked, but can it actually be pushed open?" And his answer was: as long as you can do every thing honestly.

Behind this answer is also Insta360's judgment of its own capabilities and market opportunities.

Although Insta360 is much smaller in scale than DJI, it has completed the key strategic reserves.

DJI's 2024 financial report shows that its annual revenue has exceeded 80 billion yuan, a year - on - year increase of 35%, and the net profit is as high as 12.056 billion yuan. It is a technology - powerful, well - fortified, and highly profitable technology giant.

Insta360's revenue and net profit attributable to shareholders in 2024 were close to 5.6 billion yuan and 1 billion yuan respectively. For a company founded less than ten years ago, this is a very good result. More importantly, its compound annual growth rate of revenue in the past three years has exceeded 65%, and it had nearly 4 billion yuan in current assets in the first quarter of 2025.

Insta360 is not short of money or technical talents. What it needs is a bigger story and a broader market space. Although the action camera market is still growing, the market size is limited, and the ceiling is clearly visible, facing fierce competition from brands like GoPro. In contrast, the market size and value of drones far exceed those of action cameras.

Insta360's confidence comes from its unique advantages accumulated in imaging algorithms, anti - shake technology, and user experience design. In Insta360's view, the current drone market over - emphasizes the tool attribute of "flying", and there is still huge room for improvement in the fun of "imaging" and the convenience of creation. Insta360 hopes to use its expertise in "panoramic" and "creative gameplay" to "redefine" the drone usage experience and attract potential users who are discouraged by DJI's "professionalism" and "complexity".

We can summarize that DJI's "landing" is a "strong - to - strong" move, using its absolute advantages in brand, technology, and channels to conduct a dimensionality - reduction attack on a related market. Insta360's "taking off" is a "breaking - through - the - surface from a point" move, trying to tear a hole in a seemingly solid market with its differentiated innovation in imaging gameplay.

New Battlefields, Old Challenges: How to Grab a Share in the Other's Advantageous Field?

Although both sides are ambitious, the challenges of grabbing a share in the other's advantageous field are equally huge.

The challenge for DJI is how to make the most of the "social" and "content ecosystem".

DJI has almost no technical barriers in making the Osmo 360. Whether it is optics, gimbal anti - shake, or image processing, DJI has deep accumulations. However, the core competitiveness of the panoramic camera is not just the hardware.

At least half of Insta360's success can be attributed to its powerful app. Through AI algorithms, it greatly simplifies the panoramic video editing process, providing a large number of creative templates such as "bullet time" and "moving clone", enabling ordinary people to generate short videos that can go viral on social media with one click. Around this app, Insta360 has established an active global creator community. Users share their works and exchange skills here, forming a strong brand loyalty.

This is precisely DJI's shortcoming. DJI's software, whether it is DJI Fly or DJI Mimo, focuses more on the tool attribute - stable, professional, and reliable, but lacks the fun of "playing" and the warmth of a community. DJI's users tend to use the products and leave, while Insta360's users are more immersed.

Therefore, the real challenge for DJI's Osmo 360 is: can it create a software ecosystem that is equally easy - to - use, interesting, and creative? Can it put aside its pride and learn how to operate a young and active online community? This requires DJI, a technology - oriented company, to increase or even shift towards a user - experience and content - ecosystem orientation, which is by no means easy.

The challenge for Insta360 is how to overcome the technological barriers.

Compared with DJI, Insta360 faces more severe challenges in making drones.

Drones are an extremely complex systems engineering, not simply attaching a camera to wings. The core barriers lie in:

Flight control system: This is the "brain" of the drone, determining the flight stability, safety, and wind - resistance ability. DJI has more than ten years of accumulation in this area, and its algorithms have been verified by millions of users and hundreds of millions of flight hours around the world, forming an insurmountable technological moat.

Image transmission system: It determines how far the drone can fly and whether the image transmission is stable and clear. DJI's OcuSync image transmission technology is the key to its leading position.

Supply chain and manufacturing: Drones involve thousands of precision components, requiring extremely high management and quality control of the supply chain. Any flaw in any link may lead to a fatal flight accident.

Safety and compliance: Drone crashes are not only a product quality issue but also a public safety issue. The increasingly strict regulations around the world are barriers that new players must overcome.

Other barriers will not be listed one by one.

Insta360's choice to "co - incubate" the drone brand with a third - party is a smart strategy, which can use external forces to make up for its own shortcomings in flight technology and manufacturing. However, this also means that the product's dominance and integration may be affected.

The success or failure of Insta360's drones