DJI Innovation, the world's top civilian drone producer, is discussing with investors a new financing round that will put the company's valuation at $15 billion, San Francisco-based news site The Information reported on Tuesday, citing sources close to the deal.
According to the sources, the amount of money to be raised in this round is likely to range between $500 million and $1 billion, which would by far be the largest round of financing raised by DJI. But the deal has not been finalized yet.
Another source who was briefed by DJI said "the fundraising could be a combination of equity and debt," the report noted.
DJI declined to comment when contacted by the Global Times on Wednesday.
Other investors include Accel Partners, a US venture capital firm, which invested $75 million in DJI in 2015 to assist in its global expansion. The deal valued DJI at $10 billion, according to a report from news website sohu.com on Wednesday.
Sales of DJI reached 18 billion yuan ($2.7 billion) in 2017, up 80 percent year-on-year, the report said, citing Luo Zhenhua, the president of DJI.
"We are planning to recruit more agricultural experts to develop agricultural drones in 2018," Luo said.
According to the sohu report, among the 11,000 agricultural drones in China, 7,500 were built by DJI, accounting for 70 percent of the market. However, the company has yet to make a profit in that field.
"We are aiming to improve our service and efficiency in the sector, instead of making a profit," said Luo.
