[13] Wang built the first prototypes of DJI's projects in his dorm room, selling the flight control components to universities and Chinese electric companies.

In 2011, Wang met Colin Guinn at a trade show, and the two of them founded DJI North America, a subsidiary company focusing on mass market drone sales.

[6][24] On January 21, 2019, DJI announced that an internal probe had uncovered "extensive" fraud by some employees who "inflated the costs of parts and materials for certain products for personal financial gain.

In other countries, such as Morocco and Saudi Arabia, their drones were used to disinfect urban areas and monitor human temperatures in order to contain the spread of the Coronavirus.

[31] In a separate legal battle, DJI challenged the Textron patent as invalid on the grounds of obviousness, cited prior art, but PTAB denied the probe request.

[citation needed] The Matrice (经纬) series is designed for industrial applications, including surveying, inspection, search and rescue and firefighting.

[59] The second-generation Pocket 2, announced on October 20, 2020, introduced improvements such as a larger 1/1.7-inch sensor, the DJI Matrix Stereo audio system, a modular design, and up to 8x zoom.

It is a pocket-sized gimbal camera featuring a large 1-inch sensor optimized for low light, a 2-inch OLED touchscreen, and professional 10-bit D-Log M and 10-bit HLG color modes.

The DJI Goggles are designed to interface with DJI-branded drones, using dual LC display screens, wireless connectivity and direct photo and video capture control.

The S1 is a tank-like rover remotely controlled in first-person view via Wi-Fi and an app on Microsoft Windows, Apple iOS or Google Android mobile devices.

[67] The United States Department of the Interior's Office of Aviation Services said in their analysis in July 2017 that DJI's software did not meet their information-sharing requirements.

[73] In 2017, DJI launched a bug bounty program, enlisting third-party and white hat hackers to find flaws,[74] which was relatively novel for the large organizations at the time.

[71] In January 2020, the United States Department of the Interior (DOI) announced that it would be grounding around 800 DJI drones over security concerns, which it had been using for wildlife conservation and infrastructure monitoring purposes.

[79] In July 2020, the two separate reports by Synacktiv and GRIMM suggested that the Android version of the DJI GO 4 had potential security vulnerabilities that allowed the collection of smartphone IMSI and IMEI numbers, as well as bypassing the Google Play Store.

[82] DJI responded that the report described "typical software concerns" and stated that there was no evidence of vulnerabilities being exploited before or records of unexpected data transmission on their product designed for government and professional customers.

The function was used to detect illegal modifications to the app and to reinstall the latest version directly from the official website to prevent hackers from overriding safety features.

[83][84] Industry journalist Scott Simmie suggested that the Achilles' heel of DJI is its country of origin, and repeated unsubstantiated claims of its security vulnerabilities forced the company into a defensive posture.

[86] In November 2020, senators Chris Coons, Rick Scott, and others criticized a decision by the United States Air Force to purchase DJI drones on security grounds.

[88][89] In March 2023, during a Senate Committee meeting, Florida state senator Jason Pizzo accused Blue sUAS, a government program, and Florida Department of Management Services Secretary Pedro Allende of accepting aggressive lobbying from Skydio and limiting DJI from market competition despite no proven evidence of DJI drones sending data to any unknown source while in operation.

[90] In February 2024, reports found Skydio, BRINC Drones, and the Association for Uncrewed Vehicle Systems International paid lobbying efforts to the United States government to establish legislation for banning DJI.

[91] In April 2024, DJI launched a Trust Center that publishes updates on third-party audits and certifications, along with information on security measures and privacy controls implemented in its drones.

[94] In September 2024, DJI denied the allegations and stated that Anzu Robotics is not affiliated with the company, and their relationship is limited to a standard technology licensing agreement.

[95] In September 2024, the United States Government Accountability Office (GAO) reported that restrictions on the use of DJI drones negatively impacted the Department of Interior's operations as well as those of its partners, such as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and academic institutions, which have different compliance policies.

The DOI did not ban the use of existing DJI drones for emergency flights, such as managing wildfires, and expanded this allowance to include nonemergency use after determining the security risks were sufficiently low.

[98] In January 2025, DJI released an update that permitted its products to fly over previously restricted areas such as military bases, runways, or power plants.

[103] In December 2021, the United States Department of the Treasury prohibited investment in DJI by US individuals and entities, accusing the company of assisting the People's Liberation Army and being complicit in aiding the persecution of Uyghurs.

[105] In 2023, DJI, had enlisted lobbying firms Subject Matter (who later changed their name to Avoq), Vogel Group, and CLS Strategies to address U.S. restrictions and challenges.

Law firms Sidley Austin and Porter Wright Morris & Arthur, along with Liberty Government Affairs led by Brian Darling, also supported DJI in lobbying efforts.

[120][121] On 4 August 2018, two Matrice 600 drones detonated explosives near Avenida Bolívar, Caracas in an apparent attempt to assassinate Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro.

[132][133] Fitted with high-definition cameras, Ukrainian military also used the DJI drones to produce effective propaganda materials, including live war footage of Russian forces and heavy equipment being destroyed.