Parrot SA

Lore & Background

Parrot SA began in 1994 as a wireless products company. In 1995 it introduced Voicemate, a personal digital assistant with voice recognition used by many visually impaired people, including Stevie Wonder. In 2000 it launched the first Bluetooth hands-free car kit in partnership with Ericsson. By 2006 it produced home products like digital photo frames and high fidelity wireless speakers. In 2008 it launched a Design By collection featuring designers such as Andrée Putman, Martin Szekely and Philippe Starck.

In January 2010, Parrot introduced at CES Las Vegas the Parrot AR.Drone, a flying hardware piloted over Wi-Fi with a smartphone and an Open API game development platform. In 2012 it bought 57% of Swiss drone company SenseFly and 25% of Swiss photogrammetry company Pix4D. In 2014 it introduced mini-drones Rolling Spider and Jumping Sumo at CES Las Vegas, and increased its ownership in Pix4D to 57%. That year it announced the AR Drone 3.0, code-named Bebop, with a Skycontroller option allowing flight up to 2 kilometers.

In 2015 Parrot created two subsidiaries: Parrot Drones and Parrot Automotive. It also purchased shares in startups Airinov, EOS Innovation, Micasense and Iconem. In November 2015 it introduced the Bebop 2 drone. In 2016 it released the Disco FPV, the world's first smart flying fixed-winged drone. In January 2017, due to poor sales, Parrot fired 290 of its 840 employees and abandoned its wireless and connected home devices to focus exclusively on drone manufacturing. On 1 July 2018 it released the Parrot Anafi folding drone with 4K HDR and 21 megapixel camera. In May 2019 it won a US military contract for a reconnaissance drone, receiving $11 million, leading to the ANAFI USA drone used by military and governmental institutions in several NATO member states and Japan. In January 2021 it sealed a deal with the French army for 300 micro-drones. On May 11, 2023, it partnered with Tinamu, a spin-off of ETH, to enable autonomous flight in indoor environments.

Reader's Guide

Parrot SA's significance lies in its transition from a wireless products company to a dedicated drone manufacturer after 2017. Its early innovations included the first Bluetooth hands-free car kit and the Parrot AR.Drone, which pioneered smartphone-controlled flying hardware. The company's shift to exclusive drone focus followed poor sales and layoffs in 2017. Parrot's later drones, such as the Bebop, Anafi, and ANAFI USA, found military and governmental customers, including a US Department of Defense contract worth $11 million in 2019 and a French army deal for 300 micro-drones in 2021. The company also engaged in lobbying activities in France and the European Union. In July 2024, the French Financial Markets Authority fined Parrot and two executives, including Henri Seydoux, €420,000 for disseminating false or misleading information in its 2018 interim financial report. Parrot's legacy includes its role in popularizing consumer drones and its later pivot to defense applications.

Did You Know?

• Parrot introduced the first Bluetooth hands-free car kit in 2000 in partnership with Ericsson.
• The Parrot AR.Drone, introduced in January 2010, was piloted over Wi-Fi with a smartphone.
• In 2017 Parrot fired 290 of its 840 employees and abandoned all non-drone products.
• Parrot was fined €420,000 in July 2024 by the French Financial Markets Authority for false or misleading information in its 2018 interim financial report.