Darkhive: A San Antonio Startup Taking on the Drone Industry
Darkhive, a San Antonio-based startup, is aiming to disrupt the drone market. Their strategy focuses on manufacturing inexpensive, reliable, and competitive drones to challenge Chinese dominance in the industry.
The Strategy: Simplicity and Affordability
One Chinese-owned company, DJI, currently controls approximately 80% of the global drone market. Their flagship drone, the Mavic 3, is known for its affordability, reliability, and user-friendliness. Recognizing this market stronghold, Darkhive’s founders, John Goodson and Steve Turner, saw an opportunity. Their combined background in military service and technology gave them insight into the U.S.’s reliance on potentially vulnerable drone technology.
Their solution? To build the easiest-to-use, most reliable, and most affordable drone that could be manufactured within the United States. The team is working out of a repurposed indoor soccer stadium in Southtown, which is providing ample space to test their drones.
Confronting the Tyson Punch
Launching a drone company in 2021 could seem like a risky move, given the existing competition. The co-founders, however, believed they had a strategy. The Russia-Ukraine conflict, with its heavy reliance on drone warfare, presented both a challenge and unexpected validation of their approach.
Goodson and Turner observed that front-line fighters on both sides regularly deploy DJI’s Mavic 3. The Chinese model has become a key piece of equipment, while more complex, expensive drones have often been sidelined.
Validation and Growth
Darkhive’s initial strategy emphasized affordability and ease of use, principles that have become even more relevant in the current environment. They received early contracts from the military in 2022, followed by larger ones in 2023, and finally, substantial orders with letters of intent to purchase their drones at scale in 2024.
With these customer commitments secured, Darkhive recently closed a $21 million investment from Ten Eleven Ventures. The company plans to use this capital to ramp up manufacturing in 2025. Their goal is to produce and deliver 10,000 drones per month, matching the estimated monthly drone losses in Ukraine.
Defining Success
For Goodson and Turner, success is not just about profits. Their priority is to equip military and public safety personnel with the tools they need. They don’t aim to be the most sophisticated or profitable drone company, but rather to make the drones most frequently used and requested by those in the field.
“Yes, I would be happy if we sold 10,000 drones a month,” Turner said, “But if those drones just sat in crates, that would be a failure. That would mean we have done a disservice to the United States if that’s what happens because we’ve sold something that nobody wanted.”
Michael Taylor, a San Antonio Express-News columnist, considers Darkhive a most interesting technology startup company in San Antonio.
