I’m obsessed with how unwieldy DroneII’s 2019 map has become

Drone Industry Insights, a research group that provides a myriad of reports around the drone industry, released its fourth edition of the Drone Market Environment Map 2019.

The map displays and groups companies, organizations, events and associations whose core business is in drones (or they otherwise play an important role in drones).

I’m more obsessed than ever with this year’s map (and not just because yours truly, The Drone Girl, is listed in the media, news, blogs and magazines section, alongside some of my good friends including DroneLife, Commercial Drones FM, and Women and Drones.

I’m obsessed with this year’s map because of how huge and rather unwieldy (in a good way!) it has become.

Here is the Drone Market Environment Map 2019:

Compare that with 2015’s map, which is significantly smaller. It’s not scientific proof of how the industry has grown (Drone Industry Insights doesn’t claim to track every company out there), but it’s a good high-level glimpse of just how big and broad the drone industry has come. Even when it feels like the drone industry is often consolidating through mergers and acquisitions, or companies are shutting down, this map is proof that that’s not the case. Another infographic, also from Drone Industry Insights, proved just how much investment funding ($702 million) the industry got last year.

Here’s 2015’s now very small-looking map:

Not only does the 2019 version have significantly more companies listed, but it also breaks the down even deeper — unsurprising given how vast the drone industry has become. In 2019, there’s a category for education, maintenance and data analytics. There’s a category for passenger drones(!). And there’s even a category for counter-drone solutions.

Which companies stand out to you in 2019’s map? Leave a comment below!