Parrot
"Consumer & enterprise drones."
The story
Parrot SA, a French wireless products manufacturer, was founded in 1994 by Henri Seydoux, Christine de Tourvel, and Jean-Pierre Talvard. The founders started the company with a focus on cutting-edge voice recognition and signal processing technologies, primarily for embedded systems. Their early product line included sophisticated car telephony components such as digital signal processors (DSP), noise reduction algorithms, Bluetooth software, and hands-free kits, which were sold to consumers and integrated into factory-installed vehicle audio systems.
A significant early breakthrough came in 1995 with the introduction of Voicemate, a personal digital assistant featuring voice recognition, notably used by luminaries such as Stevie Wonder. This success was followed by a partnership with Ericsson in 2000, leading to the launch of the first Bluetooth hands-free car kit, further solidifying Parrot's position in wireless technology. By 2006, the company expanded its Bluetooth offerings to include home products like digital photo frames and high-fidelity wireless speakers, demonstrating its versatility and commitment to innovation across different market segments.
The company fully embraced the burgeoning drone market in 2010, introducing the Parrot AR.Drone at CES Las Vegas. This groundbreaking flying hardware, piloted via Wi-Fi with a smartphone and supported by an Open API game development platform (ARdrone.org), marked a pivotal shift for Parrot, laying the groundwork for its future focus on unmanned aerial vehicles.
Challenges along the way
Parrot faced significant challenges, particularly in 2017 when poor sales forced the company to lay off 290 of its 840 employees. This led to a drastic strategic pivot, as Parrot abandoned its wireless and connected home device businesses to focus exclusively on drone manufacturing. More recently, in July 2024, the French Financial Markets Authority (AMF) fined Parrot and two executives, including CEO Henri Seydoux, a total of €420,000 for disseminating false or misleading information in the company's 2018 interim financial report, highlighting a period of regulatory scrutiny and financial missteps.
Major milestones
- 1994Parrot SA is founded by Henri Seydoux, Christine de Tourvel, and Jean-Pierre Talvard in Paris, France.
- 1994United States PatentFig. 30Consumer drone and stabilization filingsAssignee searchRead filing ↗
- 1995Introduced Voicemate, a personal digital assistant with voice recognition, used by visually impaired people including Stevie Wonder.
- 2000Launched the first Bluetooth hands-free car kit in partnership with Ericsson.
- 2010Introduced the Parrot AR.Drone, a Wi-Fi piloted flying hardware, at CES Las Vegas.
- 2012Acquired 57% of Swiss drone company SenseFly and 25% of photogrammetry company Pix4D.
- 2017Shifted focus entirely to drone manufacturing after poor sales led to significant layoffs.
- 2019Selected by the U.S. military for a reconnaissance drone contract, receiving $11 million from the Department of Defense.
- 2023Partnered with Tinamu to integrate software with Parrot hardware for autonomous indoor flight.
Prototypes & people
