Axon invests about $1.2 billion in drone maker Skydio for a 20% stake
The deal values Skydio at $5.2 billion and makes Axon its exclusive public safety distributor in the US and Canada. It is expected to close across Q4 2026 and Q1 2027.
Axon Enterprise, based in Scottsdale, Arizona, is investing about $1.2 billion in Skydio, a drone maker based in San Mateo, California. The Robot Report covered the deal on 10 November 2026, after Axon announced it the previous week. Axon gets 20% of Skydio, which the deal values at $5.2 billion. The money is a mix of cash and Axon stock. Part of it is new capital for Skydio and part buys shares from existing holders.
Axon also becomes the only channel through which public safety agencies in the US and Canada can buy Skydio drones, and is expanding its Drone as First Responder (DFR) programme. Under DFR, drones based at docks respond to calls. Axon says agencies using Skydio DFR have cut priority response times by as much as 65%, and that drones reach the scene first on about 80% of the calls they fly.
According to Skydio, it has more than 1,500 public safety customers and expects about $1 billion in bookings this fiscal year. Axon puts the DFR market in the US and Canada at roughly $13 billion. Closing is expected over Q4 2026 and Q1 2027, subject to the usual conditions.
Why it matters
Public safety agencies in the US and Canada will now buy Skydio aircraft through Axon, which ties the drones more closely to a single supplier’s channel. The same report notes that Zipline raised $1.5 billion the week before to expand US manufacturing for its delivery drone network. Both deals put large sums behind drone companies that are scaling up manufacturing and service. Treat the response-time and market figures as the companies’ own.