Liu Jingkang's Yin-Yang Monopoly: Insta360 and DJI Go Head-to-Head. Can the Imaging Market Accommodate Two Giants?

On October 28, a WeChat Moments post by Liu Jingkang, the chairman of Insta360 (the parent company of Insta360), a rising star in the hardware industry in 2025, sparked intense discussions. First, he paid tribute to Wang Tao, the founder and chairman of DJI. However, in the comment section, he seemed to imply that DJI had a monopoly, clearly revealing the confrontational situation between the two companies.

Can't Two Tigers Coexist in the Imaging Market?

In terms of business, both Insta360 and DJI belong to the imaging market, and they used to coexist peacefully. Previous data showed that Insta360 was the king of the global panoramic camera market, with a global market share of over 80%. DJI had long been the leader in the consumer drone market, with a market share of over 70%. In this regard, Liu Jingkang's claim that DJI had a monopoly seemed to be a case of "the pot calling the kettle black." From a business perspective, a company's ability to achieve a de facto "monopoly" through its capabilities is not necessarily a negative thing, just like what tech giants such as NVIDIA and Apple have achieved in their respective fields. It is a sign of strength.

The turning point when Insta360 dared to publicly challenge DJI occurred in June 2025 when Insta360 successfully listed on the Science and Technology Innovation Board, becoming the first company to pass the registration process on the board this year. Its issue price was 47.27 yuan, and the latest stock price reached 300.91 yuan, soaring by 536.6% in four months. Its latest market value reached 120.7 billion yuan.

After Insta360's listing, its stock price soared, and Liu Jingkang became the new richest person among the post - 90s generation. He also gave generous rewards to employees in various ways. Meanwhile, Insta360 accelerated its business expansion. In mid - August, it officially announced and launched a public beta of the panoramic drone "InstaAntigravity A1" (reviewed by Lei Technology, which can be searched for online). Its Insta360 Ace Pro 2 (also reviewed by Lei Technology, searchable online) directly targeted DJI's once - hard - to - get Pocket 3, which also unexpectedly cut its price. Insta360's Q3 operating revenue was 2.94 billion yuan, a significant year - on - year increase of 92.64%. The revenue in the first three quarters of this year reached 6.611 billion yuan, a year - on - year increase of 67.18%.

As the saying goes, "How can one tolerate others snoring beside one's pillow?" While DJI cut the prices of relevant products to cope with the competition, it also stepped up its efforts in the panoramic camera and action camera business, engaging in a "battle" with Insta360. In July this year, DJI released the panoramic camera Osmo 360 (reviewed by Lei Technology, searchable online), directly targeting Insta360's X flagship series.

What added more tension was a market research report. On October 28, the management consulting firm Jiqian Consulting released a global market research report on panoramic and action cameras. In the action camera field, DJI's market share in this field from Q1 to Q3 in 2025 reached 66%, surpassing GoPro to become the world's number one. In the panoramic camera field, DJI entered the market on July 31, 2025. Less than three months after the launch of its first product, the Osmo 360, its market share in the Chinese e - commerce channel reached 49%, and the global market share was 43%. Given the industry's understanding of the "research report" model, the fact that DJI and Insta360 each claimed to be the first in their respective areas needs no further explanation.

DJI was founded in 2006, and Insta360 was founded in 2015. These two imaging innovation companies, both rising from Shenzhen and with the word "Innovation" in their names, have finally reached this tense situation.

DJI Meets Its First Formidable Rival

As early as the 2010s, DJI defined the "cool technology" category of consumer aerial photography drones and achieved the feat of becoming well - known in Silicon Valley and amazing the world. Later, it single - handedly drove the development of the global consumer drone market forward, and its market share in 2024 was still as high as over 70%. In an interview in 2016, Wang Tao even bluntly said, "The world is too stupid, incredibly stupid."

If we only look at the drone market, DJI has indeed worked hard over the years. Its consumer drone products have formed a matrix production line, and the development of professional and industrial - grade (such as industrial and agricultural) drone products is also ongoing. Before the pandemic, DJI entered the action camera market and, together with Insta360, dethroned GoPro.

However, both the civilian drone market and the action camera market are facing a ceiling. Instead of saying that DJI was forced to enter the panoramic camera, intelligent vehicle (DJI O3 Air Unit), and intelligent cleaning (DJI's first sweeping robot, DJI ROMO P, reviewed by Lei Technology, welcome to search online) markets, it is more of an inevitable result of DJI's active expansion.

DJI has never gone public, so its operating revenue and profit have always been a mystery. Different media have different versions, and the figures vary greatly. For example, regarding its revenue in 2024, some media reported it as 80 billion yuan, while others said it was 50 billion yuan. However, from its high - end and distinctive headquarters and the rumors about its employees' salaries, it can be seen that DJI has been doing well.

DJI's "Sky City" headquarters building, which was put into use in 2022 (Photo source: DJI)

The world won't allow any private company to have an easy time for a long time. Fierce and even brutal competition is the norm. DJI has faced challenges from numerous opponents before. Domestic companies such as EHang and XAG, and foreign companies like 3D Robotics have all been defeated by it. Insta360 is the first real opponent that has made DJI vigilant and concerned. The role of capital in this process cannot be ignored.

It's not just Insta360 challenging DJI after its listing. In September this year, XAG, the second - largest company in the agricultural drone industry, submitted a prospectus for listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. It's worth noting that XAG achieved continuous profitability last year and in the first half of this year, even after cutting the prices of its agricultural drone products. After the price cut by the competitor,XAG achieved its first profit - XAG has found a "non - DJI" way of operation in the drone market.

The old opponents haven't given up, and new opponents are joining. The PK between Insta360 and DJI has reached a white - hot stage.

(Photo source: Insta360)

As another strong player in the panoramic camera and intelligent imaging market, Insta360 has learned from the experiences of predecessors like GoPro. It is not satisfied with just one niche category but uses the intelligent imaging device field as a starting point to launch a full - scale war against DJI. Moreover, with the support of capital, Insta360 can accept the cost of making little or no profit in the short term. Whether in the third quarter of 2025 or the first three quarters, the net profit attributable to shareholders of the listed company of Insta360 declined. Insta360 said that the significant increase in R & D expenses this year was due to increased investment in chip customization, strategic projects, and higher salaries for R & D personnel.

Insta360 is accelerating its attack on DJI's stronghold. The brand InstaAntigravity, jointly incubated with a third - party, plans to launch the world's first panoramic drone product in January next year and is expected to start trial sales in some regional markets in the fourth quarter of this year. Meanwhile, according to the latest financial report, Insta360 also plans to launch its own drone brand.

(Photo source: InstaAntigravity)

Notably, in the current situation where the consumer electronics market is facing a bottleneck, it is inevitable that the drone market will become even more competitive. In addition to the established players and the new force Insta360, there are rumors that mobile phone giants such as OPPO and vivo will also enter the market. Even the intelligent cleaning giant Dreame has confirmed that it will enter the drone market to compete with DJI.

In addition to the imaging product lines such as drones, the wireless microphone market, which DJI once dominated, has also seen a challenger in Hollifly. This year, Hollifly upgraded its brand to HOLLYLAND and accelerated its global market expansion. HOLLYLAND focuses on four major audio - visual hardware products, including wireless microphones and live - streaming cameras. Its core user group is the same as that of Insta360 and DJI, mainly content creators. Although it is not as well - known as DJI and Insta360, it has been thriving in its niche market, with an average annual growth rate of up to 50%. The sales of its products rank first in multiple e - commerce platforms.

DJI Is No Longer "Arrogant"

Due to the pressure from new opponents, DJI had to make adjustments. After the National Day and Mid - Autumn Festival holidays this year, DJI cut the prices of multiple products, making this round of confrontation with Insta360 public.

(Photo source: DJI)

The latest rumor is that the starting price of DJI's Neo 2 drone, which will be released on October 30, will still be kept at a relatively low level of $229 (about 1,626 yuan) in the overseas market. As the most basic drone product in DJI's lineup, the starting version of the Neo series even abandons the signature "remote controller" configuration and uses a direct - connection control method via a mobile app.

(Photo source: DJI)

Meanwhile, DJI is taking actions on multiple fronts and is no longer "resting on its laurels." In August this year, DJI released its first sweeping robot product, DJI ROMO P, indicating that it was stepping out of its "comfort zone."

(Photo source: Shot by Lei Technology)

DJI's long - accumulated underlying core technologies, such as drone flight control technology, data transmission capabilities, AI algorithms, environmental perception, obstacle avoidance systems, and intelligent path planning, theoretically can be applied to more product categories and have the potential to build unique competitiveness.

Over the years, when attending international exhibitions such as IFA, CES, and MWC, I (from Lei Technology) have a deep impression that DJI is the most prominent brand in overseas exhibitions and offline events. Almost all media, self - media, influencers, and content creators at the exhibitions have a DJI Pocket and a DJI wireless microphone in hand. This is a microcosm of DJI's rise as a Chinese innovative benchmark brand on the world stage. Now, with players like Insta360 and HOLLYLAND accelerating their competition with DJI, if it is a healthy competition that leads to the "group - style" rise of Chinese hard - technology innovation brands, it may not be a bad thing for DJI or the industry.

Cover image: A comparative review of two products from DJI and Insta360 by firstquadcopter.

This article is from "Lei Technology" and is published by 36Kr with permission.