After getting a $75 million investment from Accel in May, drone giant DJI is putting some of its money to work.
DJI announced this week that it's purchasing a minority stake in Swedish camera manufacturer Hasselblad, Tech Crunch is reporting.
"Hasselblad and DJI share a passion to provide creative people with cutting-edge, inventive technology to help them take visual storytelling to the next level," Frank Wang, DJI's Founder and CEO, said in a press release to announce the stake in Hasselblad. "With this partnership, we combine our strengths to further push the borders of what's possible in imaging technology."
Added Perry Oosting, Hasselblad's CEO: "We are honored to be partnering with DJI, the clear technology and market leader in its segment. DJI and Hasselblad are equally enthusiastic about creativity and excellence, and we are looking forward to sharing technical expertise and paving the way for future innovations."
According to Hasselblad, each company will still operate on its own, with Hasselblad continuing to manufacture its cameras and equipment by hand in Sweden and DJI making its drones and cameras in China. However, the fact that DJI is a leading drone manufacturer makes a collaboration between its machines being bolstered by the iconic camera brand, Hasselblad, imminent.
If you're wondering just how iconic Hasselblad is, look no further than its boast of being the first camera on the moon, capturing Neil Armstrong in a shot taken by Buzz Aldrin on the first human walk on the moon with Apollo 11 back in 1969.
That bodes well for DJI, considering the Chinese company recently launched the Zenmuse camera system — including the X5 Pro and X5 Raw — a micro-four-thirds camera optimized for moving in space.
Great things should come out of this partnership.
