Caixin
Caixin Global – Latest China News & Headlines

Home >

ABOUT US

CX Tech is Caixin Global's real-time tech news portal, featuring 24-hour news, short-form analysis, and roundups from business and tech media in China.

TRENDING
In Depth: What’s in the China-U.S. Tariff Truce, and What’s Left Unsettled
LATEST
FCC Votes to Ban Chinese Labs From Testing Electronics for U.S. Market
China Optical Module Stocks Slump Despite Surging Earnings
Tencent Expands Enterprise AI Push With Integrated Workspace
Insta360 Profit Falls 94% Despite Strong Sales Growth
Apple’s Debut Foldable Suffers Hardware and Software Glitches
Unitree Robotics Surges as AI Models Promise to Unlock Robot Potential
Moonshot AI Launches More Powerful Kimi Model
MiniMax Shares Fall Below IPO Price Amid AI Sector Sell-Off
Micron Taiwan Workers Stage Strike Seeking Bigger Share of AI Profits
ByteDance Challenges Claim That AI Dramas Consume 55% of China’s Tokens
MiniMax Cuts API Prices With New Flash AI Model
China Creates National Data Group to Advance Data Economy
U.S. Bans Civilian Federal Agencies From Using DeepSeek Products
China Steps Up AI Investment With $9 Billion Fund Backing Model Developers
China Tightens Export Controls on Drone Parts, Eases Curbs on Farm Models
China Proposes Export Curbs on AI and Solar Technology
Global Smartphone Shipments Fall as Much as 22% as Costs Rise
Chinese AI Chip Startup SUNMMIO Raises Nearly 2 Billion Yuan in a Year
Analysis: Global Tech Sell-Off Tests Confidence in the AI Spending Boom
DeepSeek Restores Services After Nearly Five-Hour Outage
U.S. Tech Supplier Cuts Tie with Chinese Drone Makers

By Bloomberg / Jul 18, 2019 04:57 AM / Business & Tech

Photo: Bloomberg

Photo: Bloomberg

An American supplier of drone technology to dozens of state and local law enforcement and public safety agencies said it will stop working with Chinese drone manufacturers, citing security concerns.

Cape Productions Inc., a Redwood City, California-based startup, plans to inform customers Wednesday that it will stop selling software compatible with Chinese drones to its clients in the U.S. and a handful of other countries, most of which use the tools to remotely dispatch and operate the small aerial vehicles to survey possible incidents or crime scenes.

It’s a blow to China’s DJI, the world’s top maker of drones which has spent years trying to calm fears that its products could be used for espionage after several U.S. government agencies expressed cyber security concerns.

“The statements from different federal agencies have caused partners and prospective customers to have concerns,” said Chris Rittler, Cape’s chief executive officer. “That’s real.”

But in blacklisting Chinese drones, Cape runs the risk of hampering its own business, at least in the short term. DJI currently accounts for every single drone that runs Cape’s software commercially. The company declined to specify how many that is, saying only that it has flown more than 150,000 trips.

Cape will begin asking new customers to choose from a list of approved manufacturers and allow existing clients to use their DJI drones until the end of their contracts, which last no longer than a year.

In a letter to a Senate subcommittee last month, DJI denied charges that it sends video footage abroad and said it has built custom drones without internet capabilities for use in government projects. It attributed criticism to a desire to squelch competition from China.

This month, the Interior Department recommended approving DJI’s products but suggested limiting their use to nonsensitive missions involving data that could safely be made public. One reason the department cited for approving DJI was the lack of any viable domestic alternatives.

Related: China's DJI Broadens U.S. Operations to Quell Security Concerns

Share this article
Open WeChat and scan the QR code