Best Drone Design and Manufacturing Companies in Silicon Valley (2026)
The best drone design and manufacturing companies in Silicon Valley in 2026 are Aerora Technology, Skydio, Zipline, Wing, Matternet, Elroy Air, Reliable Robotics and Wisk. Each one designs uncrewed or autonomous aircraft in the San Francisco Bay Area, but they differ a lot in what they build and where the hardware is actually made.
That last point matters more than it used to. Since December 2025, the FCC has blocked new equipment authorizations for foreign-produced drones and drone critical components unless an exemption applies. So “designed in Silicon Valley” and “built in Silicon Valley” are now two separate questions, and this list answers both for every company.
How we chose
Quick comparison
| Company | HQ | Best for | Notable |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aerora Technology | Santa Clara | OEMs that want an ODM partner | U.S. engineering, Vietnam manufacturing |
| Skydio | San Mateo | Buying a U.S.-built drone off the shelf | Builds in Hayward; $3.5B U.S. expansion plan |
| Zipline | South San Francisco | Delivery at scale | Builds Platform 2 in South San Francisco |
| Wing | Bay Area (Alphabet) | Retail delivery programs | Over 1 million home deliveries |
| Matternet | Mountain View | Healthcare and campus delivery | M2 holds FAA type certification |
| Elroy Air | South San Francisco | Autonomous cargo VTOL | Kratos builds the Chaparral in Sacramento |
| Reliable Robotics | Mountain View | Uncrewed conversion of existing aircraft | Air Force contract for an autonomous Caravan |
| Wisk | Mountain View | Autonomous passenger eVTOL | Two Gen 6 aircraft in flight test |
Aerora Technology
Aerora is an ODM headquartered in Santa Clara. It partners with OEMs to design, develop, manufacture and scale autonomous aerial, ground, maritime and robotic products. Program management, architecture, design, customer engagement and RMA support sit in the U.S., and production runs in Vietnam. Aerora manages the supply chain across both.
Its process runs from discovery and design through prototyping, EVT/DVT/PVT validation, DFM, tooling, production ramp and support. On the technology side, Aerora offers ADRC flight and gimbal control, FOC ESCs it describes as patent pending, motors from the 08 to the 95 series, and custom battery packs with in-house cell and pack testing. In one case study, it integrated a Teledyne FLIR Hadron dual EO/IR module on Qualcomm-based Open-Q SOMs to shorten an OEM’s development timeline. Aerora builds to NDAA (FY2020 §848 / FY2024 §1823-1826) sourcing requirements. See its ODM services and engineering pages.
Worth checking: Aerora’s hardware is built in Vietnam, so ask for each product’s FCC authorization and exemption status. Aerora is not on the Blue UAS list.
Skydio
Skydio is headquartered in San Mateo and builds its drones in Hayward, where Manufacturing Dive reports it runs four manufacturing facilities. Its lineup includes the X10 and X10D, plus the Skydio Dock. In April 2026, Skydio announced a $3.5 billion U.S. investment over five years. That includes a new factory five times the size of its current manufacturing space and a supplier program, SkyForge, that invites suppliers to co-locate production with Skydio. Skydio says its drones serve public safety agencies, the U.S. military and allied nations. It is one of the few Bay Area companies that designs and builds at volume in the region.
Worth checking: Skydio sells finished products, not design services. Lead times can shift during its factory expansion.
Zipline
Zipline is headquartered in South San Francisco and builds its Platform 2 aircraft there. The company calls the site the largest autonomous aircraft manufacturing facility in the United States. DroneXL reports 12 production lines, end-of-line testing on every unit and thermal chamber testing from -50 to 170°F. Zipline raised $600 million in January 2026 and has since hired executives from Tesla, Uber and Waymo to expand U.S. delivery.
Worth checking: Zipline runs its own delivery network. It does not build aircraft for other companies.
Wing
Wing is an Alphabet company that started inside Google’s X in the Bay Area in 2012. It says it has completed well over one million deliveries to homes, mostly through its Walmart partnership, and it also works with DoorDash. In 2026 Wing brought delivery service back to the Bay Area. It designs its aircraft and operating software in-house.
Worth checking: Wing does not publish where its aircraft are manufactured, and it operates as a delivery service rather than a hardware vendor.
Matternet
Matternet is based in Mountain View. It builds the M2 drone, the Matternet Station and a software platform to run them. Matternet says the M2 is the only drone delivery platform with FAA type certification. In May 2026, it raised $33 million and went public through a reverse merger. It uses Amprius silicon-anode cells in the M2 fleet, and in September 2026 it announced a field-technician delivery partnership with AVI-SPL.
Worth checking: Matternet focuses on small-payload delivery. Confirm its production capacity and roadmap if you plan a large rollout.
Elroy Air
Elroy Air designs the Chaparral, a hybrid-electric autonomous cargo VTOL, at its South San Francisco headquarters. Kratos is its exclusive U.S. manufacturer and plans to build the aircraft in Sacramento, with first production aircraft expected in late 2026. Kratos rates the Chaparral at more than 500 pounds of payload and up to 450 miles of range. In August 2026, the U.S. Army awarded Elroy Air a $46 million Phase III SBIR contract, and the company has agreed to go public through a SPAC.
Worth checking: Chaparral is entering production, so check delivery schedules and the status of the SPAC deal.
Reliable Robotics
Reliable Robotics, based in Mountain View, builds an autonomy system that flies aircraft from gate to gate with a remote pilot supervising. Its first platform is the Cessna 208B Caravan. The Air Force signed a $17.4 million contract to buy, integrate and test the system on a Caravan, and in April 2026 the company raised $160 million to work toward FAA certification of an uncrewed Caravan.
Worth checking: Reliable Robotics converts existing aircraft. It does not design small drones from scratch.
Wisk
Wisk, based in Mountain View, is developing a self-flying passenger eVTOL for FAA certification. Wisk says Gen 6 builds on five earlier aircraft generations and more than 1,750 test flights. Its Generation 6 aircraft first flew in December 2025 at its Hollister test site, and a second Gen 6 aircraft joined flight testing in May 2026. Wisk has named Houston, Los Angeles and Miami as launch markets.
Worth checking: Wisk is still in flight test and certification, so it is a long-term reference point rather than a supplier today.
Common questions
Which drone companies are based in Silicon Valley?
Silicon Valley and Bay Area drone companies include Aerora Technology (Santa Clara), Skydio (San Mateo), Zipline (South San Francisco), Wing (an Alphabet company), Matternet (Mountain View), Elroy Air (South San Francisco), Reliable Robotics (Mountain View) and Wisk (Mountain View). They cover consumer and enterprise drones, delivery, cargo and autonomous passenger aircraft, and ODM services for other OEMs.
Are Silicon Valley drones actually made in California?
Some are. Skydio builds in Hayward and Zipline builds in South San Francisco. Kratos will build Elroy Air’s Chaparral in Sacramento. Aerora designs in Santa Clara and manufactures in Vietnam. Wing does not publish where its aircraft are built. Because the FCC now treats foreign-produced drones differently, always ask where the final product is made.
What does the FCC Covered List mean for drones built outside the U.S.?
Since 22 December 2025, foreign-produced drones and drone critical components cannot get new FCC equipment authorizations unless an exemption applies. The exemptions cover Blue UAS list items, Buy American domestic end products (through 1 January 2028) and products with a DoW or DHS Conditional Approval. Previously authorized models are not affected by that listing.
Is NDAA compliance the same as FCC approval?
No. NDAA sourcing rules limit which components federal buyers can accept, mainly those from covered Chinese companies. FCC Covered List status controls whether a product can get a new equipment authorization. A drone can meet NDAA sourcing rules and still need an FCC exemption, so check both. Our guide to NDAA and Blue UAS requirements covers the difference.
Talk to Aerora
If you are an OEM planning a drone or robotics product, Aerora can take it from architecture through prototypes, validation and volume production. Tell us what you are building on the contact page, and we will send you FCC and sourcing documentation with the proposal. For more background, read our breakdown of the biggest drone supply chain risks or see our ODM services.
Related reading: Best drone engineering firms in California.
Sources (23)
- https://www.manufacturingdive.com/news/skydio-35b-drone-united-states-expansion-skyforge/818398/
- https://www.skydio.com/blog/skydio-raises-230-million-series-e-funding-round
- https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2026/apr/28/california-drone-maker-to-spend-billions-of-dollar/
- https://dronexl.co/2026/03/19/zipline-lutnick-drone-factory-visit/
- https://www.zipline.com/newsroom/zipline-surpasses-2-million-deliveries-raises-more-than-600m-to-power-next-phase-of-growth-and-expands-operations-to-houston-and-phoenix
- https://dronexl.co/2026/01/20/zipline-reaches-7-6-billion-valuation-drone/
- https://www.cnbc.com/2026/07/14/zipline-drone-delivery-tesla-uber-waymo-executives.html
- https://wing.com/about
- https://wing.com/news/wing-drone-delivery-bay-area
- https://investor.matternet.com/news-events/press-releases/detail/114/matternet-the-worlds-only-faa-type-certified-drone-delivery-platform-raises-33m-private-placement-as-part-of-go-public-transaction
- https://ir.amprius.com/news-events/press-releases/detail/168/amprius-and-matternet-partner-to-advance-drone-delivery
- https://dronelife.com/2026/09/17/avi-spl-and-matternet-partner-on-drone-delivery-for-field-technicians/
- https://www.kratosdefense.com/newsroom/kratos-to-manufacture-elroy-air-chaparral-autonomous-cargo-aircraft-in-expanded-california-facility
- https://thedefensepost.com/2026/08/20/us-chaparral-elroy/
- https://elroyair.com/company/news/press-releases/elroy-air-to-go-public/
- https://www.nationaldefensemagazine.org/articles/2025/8/26/air-force-acquiring-reliable-robotics-pilotless-cargo-plane
- https://dronexl.co/2026/04/21/reliable-robotics-160m-nimble-partners-faa-certification/
- https://wisk.aero/newsroom/wisk-completes-first-flight-of-generation-6-autonomous-evtol
- https://wisk.aero/newsroom/second-gen6-aircraft
- https://www.therobotreport.com/wisk-aero-completes-first-flight-of-generation-6-autonomous-aircraft/
- https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/DA-25-1086A1.pdf
- https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/DA-26-761A1.pdf
- https://www.hklaw.com/en/insights/publications/2025/12/fcc-adds-all-foreign-made-drones
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