Dreame forms a drone team: poaching talents from DJI and relying on "OEM" to seize the market?

Recently, the "BUG" column exclusively learned that Dreame, a smart home appliance brand, is expanding into the drone business. The company's headquarters is located in Suzhou, and it has established a branch in Shenzhen. People familiar with the matter revealed that many people from DJI, Meituan, etc. have joined the project. Another insider said that different from DJI, the early operation model of Dreame's drone project leans towards e - commerce. It will choose the "OEM" approach to seize the market and then focus on self - developed technology later.

In addition, the "BUG" column also found that on recruitment platforms, positions related to Dreame's drone project have been launched, including but not limited to positions such as "Drone Navigation Modeling Algorithm Engineer" and "No. 1 Salesperson for Drone Operation Business". Some job seekers revealed that they are required to have corresponding resources in the toB and toG sectors. "Dreame's drones may not target the consumer - grade market but aim at the industrial - grade market."

This move is regarded as a counterattack against DJI. Previously, DJI, which started with drones, has long coveted the robot vacuum cleaner market and recently released new products. Now, Dreame is also going deep into DJI's territory.

It is worth mentioning that Yu Hao, the founder of Dreame Technology, has a close connection with drones. He once founded the "Sky Workshop" in Tsinghua Garden, which gathered more than 200 geeks at that time and became China's earliest R & D base for quad - rotor drones.

Focus on toB Instead of toC First?

The "BUG" column found that Dreame's drone products adopt a fusion model of lidar and vision. On major recruitment platforms, Dreame is recruiting relevant business personnel, such as "Drone Navigation Modeling Algorithm Engineer" and "No. 1 Salesperson for Drone Operation Business".

Some applicants revealed that Dreame's drone business requires work experience and corresponding resources in the toB and toG sectors, and also requires familiarity with the business model of the drone industry. Perhaps it will not target the consumer - grade market for the time being but focus on the industrial - grade market, which requires relatively rich industry work experience.

Therefore, Dreame is not only deploying in Suzhou but also in Shenzhen. Because Shenzhen has the most mature upstream and downstream of the drone industry, it can not only quickly complete the OEM transformation, but the relevant technical talent market is also relatively perfect.

"Dreame is expanding very aggressively. The drone team has poached many people, including those from Meituan and DJI." When asked why Dreame is entering the relevant business, an insider said bluntly that DJI's entry into the robot vacuum cleaner field has brought some pressure to Dreame and other companies.

He said, "DJI has been deploying in the robot vacuum cleaner field for many years, and Dreame is aware of it. Coupled with the current boom in the low - altitude economy this year, as well as the mature supply chain and talents in the drone industry, it is logical for Dreame to enter the drone business. Although the consumer - grade market is highly competitive, the scenarios for industrial - grade drones are very diverse, and there are still opportunities in some regions and markets."

Not long ago, DJI launched its first robot vacuum cleaner product, the ROMO series. Although DJI did not conduct large - scale publicity for the product, it has extremely high popularity. Taking JD.com as an example, the ROMO has squeezed into the top three on the hot - selling list (overall list) of robot vacuum cleaners, but its price is 50% higher than that of its competitors.

"Dreame Has Many New Departments but Few Actions"

The founder of Dreame Technology, Yu Hao, has a close connection with drones. He once founded the "Sky Workshop" in Tsinghua Garden, which gathered more than 200 geeks at that time and became China's earliest R & D base for quad - rotor drones.

Yu Hao once publicly stated that embodied intelligence is currently narrowly associated with "humanoid robots" in the industry. Ultimately, the embodied form should be more extensive, including intelligent cars, drones, robotic dogs, humanoid robots, and even household service robots such as robot vacuum cleaners.

Some insiders mentioned that Dreame's principle in technology R & D and reserve is to mass - produce one generation, research and develop the next generation, and reserve the third generation. The founder Yu Hao has great ambitions for business expansion, so the drone business is not surprising.

However, some industry insiders mentioned that if Dreame only enters the market from the OEM perspective, the positioning of its drones will not be very high - end. Whether it is DJI, the industry leader, or Insta360, which recently officially announced new drones, if Dreame enters the market this year, it will undoubtedly be forced into a highly competitive situation.

In addition, some supply - chain insiders said that new departments such as those for televisions and drones have actually existed for a long time, but the situation of "having departments but no actions" has become the norm. In his opinion, behind Dreame's search for new business opportunities is actually the extreme "involution" in the fields of robot vacuum cleaners and mopping robots in China. However, "it is easy to develop new business products, but difficult to commercialize them."

He pointed out that especially in the drone field, DJI has long occupied 70% - 85% of the global market share and has an absolute monopoly position in major markets such as North America, Europe, and Asia. In the industry application market (agriculture, surveying and mapping, security, etc.), DJI's market share exceeds 50%. Moreover, Insta360, a new entrant in the drone field, has also made great efforts in new products. Compared with Dreame's "wide - net" approach, these competitors in the drone track are all powerful opponents, and it is difficult for Dreame to find the best commercialization route.

Hardware Giants All Want to "Get Involved" in Each Other's Business

In recent years, cross - border operations in the hardware industry have become a trend, and companies are penetrating deeper into each other's territories.

For example, DJI has crossed over into the panoramic action camera and robot vacuum cleaner fields, Insta360 has entered the drone field, and now Dreame Technology has squeezed into this market, further intensifying the competition among these giants.

Industry analyst Zhang Shule believes that it is not a problem for Dreame to cross - border, but if it does not have strong capabilities, it will be a big problem. The coffee, power bank, and TV industries are all very mature. Without a disruptive approach, such as Xiaomi's strategy of cutting prices to enter a highly competitive market, it is just a superficial attempt.

In his opinion, the consumer - grade drone market has become highly competitive, and the industrial - grade market is still in the exploration stage. Drone manufacturers are trying various possible scenario integrations, including the field of manned drones. However, they have not yet fully broken through the bottleneck of being just a flying camera. It is still unknown whether Dreame's entry can bring new scenarios and not be imitated by competitors for some time. Without prior technology accumulation, it is difficult to make a breakthrough, and Dreame is not on the same level as DJI, which has been leading globally for a long time and is now entering industrial scenarios from the consumer - grade market.

This article is from the WeChat public account "Sina Technology", author: Luo Ning. Republished by 36Kr with permission.