Short · 2026-09-29
Droners.io was bought, orphaned by a bankruptcy, and bought again.
A Rhode Island marketplace for hiring drone pilots that PrecisionHawk bought in 2018, that survived PrecisionHawk's 2023 bankruptcy, and that was bought at auction in 2024 by customers who had used it for years.
"The Uber for drone pilots," Droners.io's browse card said in February 2016. From South Kingstown, Rhode Island, it connected people with local professional pilots to film "your wedding, real estate, surf session or anything else you can imagine," with reviews and prices to compare. The preserved screenshot shows a portfolio search: a form for finding pilots above a grid of aerial photographs.
In February 2018, drone company PrecisionHawk bought Droners.io along with AirVid, to build a network of more than 15,000 drone operators. Founder Dave Brown took over pilot network development, and DroneLife said certified pilots could join the network and start taking jobs in their region through a profile on droners.io.
The parent did not last. PrecisionHawk ceased operations after a Chapter 7 bankruptcy filing in mid-December 2023, owing $17.5 million against $3.8 million in assets, according to The Drone Girl.
Droners.io came out the other side with new owners who were already its customers. Around 1 May 2024, Daniel Apke wrote: "Last week my brothers and I acquired Droners.io. We have been using Droners.IO for years for our real estate photos." On their podcast that month, the Apke brothers described outbidding another offer in the bankruptcy auction.
The droners.io site blocks automated visits, so we could not read its current pages directly.