Insta360 founder clarifies "sluggish sales": Impressive results in China within 48 hours, upcoming overseas launch

On the evening of December 8th, Liu Jingkang, the founder of Insta360 (688775.SH), issued an internal letter. In the letter, he stated that over the past weekend, Yingling was bombarded with a deluge of negative articles and discussions. After the global launch of Yingling A1, the world's first panoramic drone, a large amount of homogenized content painted a picture of "sluggish sales," and "even our users and partners were attacked."

Yingling is a panoramic drone brand launched by Insta360. On December 5th, the first product of Yingling, the A1, was officially released, with a starting price of 6,799 yuan. Different from traditional drones, the Yingling A1 adopts a fisheye lens solution fixed on the fuselage. Combined with an AI stitching algorithm, it enables post-flight composition, supports 8K panoramic video shooting, and comes with VR flight goggles and a motion-sensing remote control handle, offering a brand-new immersive flight and creative experience.

Regarding the negative articles on the internet, Liu Jingkang clarified that "a lot of the content does not conform to the facts." He said that within 48 hours after the release of the Yingling A1 panoramic drone, the sales volume in the Chinese market alone exceeded 30 million yuan. Moreover, multiple overseas markets are currently in the certification process, and the product will soon be available there.

Over 30 million in sales in 48 hours: Is this Insta360's next growth curve?

He pointed out that the 30 million yuan in sales within 48 hours can be compared to a mainstream and mature model of its competitors. Journalists found that on the day of its launch, the Yingling A1 topped the sales charts of multiple platforms in the same category, including ranking first in the sales of smart flying products on Tmall, first in the sales of POP drones on JD.com, and first in the sales of drones on Douyin.

Another notable indicator is that according to Insta360's semi-annual report released this year, its overseas revenue accounts for over 70%. As the Yingling A1 gradually enters overseas markets, the product's potential for growth will be even more significant.

For Insta360 itself, this is also a good start. Liu Jingkang mentioned a figure: the average daily sales volume of Insta360's core handheld imaging business line in the first three quarters was over 24 million yuan. This means that drones could very likely become Insta360's second growth curve after the handheld imaging business.

Liu Jingkang especially emphasized that this achievement was accomplished under the "special attention" of some industry giants. Especially in the supply chain, six months before the launch of the Yingling A1, several core suppliers of Yingling suddenly faced "exclusive" pressure, involving more than 30 suppliers. "This is not the first time we have faced such unfair exclusive measures."

To deal with the "siege" of the giants, Insta360 quickly completed the switch to secondary suppliers in recent years and rebuilt a more independently controllable supply chain system. "These unconventional and intensive attacks precisely show that what we are doing has indeed shaken the existing landscape. I believe that the more intense the attacks we face, the more it proves the correctness of our direction and the possibility of disrupting the existing system," Liu Jingkang said.

Panoramic drones are to traditional drones what cars are to carriages. They are the consumer-grade drones that best match human intuition: through the panoramic lens and the motion-sensing control of the handle, your fingers indicate the direction, and your gaze sets the focus, eliminating the need for complex camera movements. When paired with VR goggles, the experience is like a bird flying in the sky, allowing you to feel space and the world. This is also Liu Jingkang's vision for panoramic drones.

Before Insta360 entered the market, the drone industry was not a blue ocean. DJI's consumer-grade drones already had significant market influence globally, occupying over 70% of the market share, leaving little room for new entrants.

However, in Liu Jingkang's view, Insta360 does not regret deciding to develop panoramic drones five years ago. Just as new energy vehicles have defeated traditional fuel vehicles, new product categories still have their opportunities. Currently, Insta360 has planned and invested in several iterative projects related to panoramic drones.

The interaction mode of VR flight goggles and motion-sensing remote control is the biggest difference between the Yingling A1 and traditional drones. This is Insta360's opportunity to enter the drone market, but it also means higher cost challenges. For example, the cost of a traditional drone remote control only accounts for 1/4 of the aircraft, but the average industry cost of VR goggles is even higher than that of drones. Moreover, the Yingling A1 uses high-end chips and two 1-inch MicroOLED screens, resulting in a higher price.

Liu Jingkang said that in the future, R & D colleagues will further reduce costs through technological engineering to offer a more affordable price.

Why must Insta360 develop panoramic drones?

Besides drones, Insta360 and DJI are also in fierce competition in the panoramic camera field. In August this year, DJI launched its first panoramic camera, the OSMO 360, and launched a large-scale promotional campaign shortly before the Double 11 shopping festival, directly targeting Insta360's core market.

According to Insta360's third-quarter financial report, in the third quarter of 2025, the company achieved an operating income of 2.94 billion yuan, a significant year-on-year increase of 92.64%. The cumulative revenue in the first three quarters reached 6.611 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 67.18%, continuing its strong growth momentum. In the latest Double 11 list on Tmall, Insta360 once again won the sales championship in the overall action camera category and led the panoramic camera list.

Liu Jingkang believes that DJI's entry into the market has undoubtedly accelerated the competition in the industry, but another positive signal is that it has also promoted market expansion.

In this internal letter, Liu Jingkang also mentioned a concept for the first time - the photography robot, and said that he wants to "make this product vision a reality as soon as possible." In concept, a photography robot is clearly different from a simple automated camera. It may be an intelligent system that can independently sense the environment, understand the shooting intention, and actively create high-quality content.

To some extent, the Yingling A1 also reflects this product concept. The experience of the panoramic lens and the motion-sensing control of the handle, which combines humans and machines and offers intuitive control, is a step towards intelligent collaboration with robots.

Liu Jingkang also affirmed Insta360's innovation ability in the letter. He mentioned a figure: currently, over 70% of Insta360's revenue comes from original niche product categories, including panoramic cameras and thumb cameras. He clearly stated: "Solving problems that no one else can solve, inventing, changing, and creating new markets are Insta360's core competitiveness, our mission, and the value of the company's existence."

Liu Jingkang is not the only hardware company founder who has recently mentioned DJI. On November 15th, Tao Ye, the founder and CEO of Topwise Technology, posted a long article of over a thousand words on his WeChat Moments, and the content was also directed at his "former employer," DJI. He said that DJI had invested in a 3D printing company, and "the agreement also specifically included clauses related to Topwise." This investment arrangement with "obvious exclusivity" made him dissatisfied.

Tao Ye was once the head of DJI's drone division. In his view, the fundamental reason for DJI's move is the pressure of talent competition. Known as the "Whampoa Military Academy of Chinese hardware," DJI is facing challenges from more new entrants.

From panoramic imaging to 3D printing, from flight goggles to photography robots, the boundaries of intelligent hardware will continue to expand. They may not follow the existing rules, but they could define new market segments. The healthy development of the industry will ultimately depend on whether a more open innovation environment and cooperation order can be established on top of fierce commercial competition, so as to jointly expand the market and ultimately benefit consumers and promote the overall upgrading of the industry.

Screenshot of Liu Jingkang's internal letter

This article is from the WeChat official account "Jiemian News," and is reprinted by 36Kr with permission.