Axon will own about 37% of Skydio, up from about 15%, after a $1.2 billion investment it announced on 5 November. Only $254.9 million of that is new money for Skydio, Axon’s filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission shows. The rest buys existing shares.
The deal values Skydio at $5.2 billion before the investment, Axon said. In April Skydio raised $110 million at a $4.4 billion valuation.
How the $1.2 billion splits
Axon bought 25 million new non-voting Series G preferred shares on 5 November at $10.19617 each, paying half in cash and half in its own stock. That part has closed.
The remainder goes to Skydio’s existing shareholders. Axon is making a tender offer for up to 68.5 million more shares at the same price, open to eligible holders of Skydio stock, and has agreed to buy further shares from some of them. The tender should settle by the end of 2026 and the last purchases in the first quarter of 2027.
About 60% of the total, roughly $720 million, will be paid in cash and the rest in Axon shares. Axon will not issue more than 19.99% of its own stock for the deal.
Exclusive in public safety
Axon also becomes Skydio’s exclusive distributor for public safety in the US and Canada. Agencies there will buy Skydio drones through Axon, including for drone-as-first-responder work, in which a docked drone flies to an emergency call ahead of officers.
Skydio has more than 1,500 public-safety customers, the companies said. Skydio expects about $1 billion of bookings in its current fiscal year. It is private and publishes no audited accounts.
“Skydio stays free to move fast,” said Rick Smith, Axon’s chief executive. Adam Bry, Skydio’s chief executive, said the money would speed up its technology roadmap.
Axon puts the market for drone-as-first-responder systems at about $13 billion in the US and Canada. Skydio describes itself as the largest US-based drone maker, with customers in every branch of the US military.
