Yuneec was founded by Wenyan Jiang and Yu Tian in Hong Kong, China 1999. Initially, it was a designer and manufacturer of electric remote-controlled model airplanes, offering ODM services to brands like
Horizon Hobby. In 2008, Yuneec developed the world's lightest electric remote-controlled model helicopter, the mCX, and then focused on developing high-power electric motors and drives, the
Yuneec Power Drive series, successfully applied to its first successful electric paraglider E-Pac, the
E430 electric two-seater manned aircraft, the
EViva electric glider, and the
Yuneec International e-Spyder electric human-crewed aircraft. Since 2012, the company has ventured into smart electric drones and electric ground projects, creating the popular Typhoon Q500 series drones and the E-GO electric skateboard in Europe and America. In July 2010, Yuneec's
E430 electric human-crewed aircraft won the Lindbergh Electric Aircraft Prize (LEAP) and received DULV certification. In February 2013, Yuneec's e-Spyder became the world's first single-seat electric aircraft to receive DULV certification. In 2014, Yuneec released the Typhoon Q500, the first ready-to-fly drone. In August 2015,
Intel Corporation invested $60 million for a 15% stake in Yuneec, co-developing future projects. That same year, Yuneec became one of the founding members of Dronecode, a nonprofit hosted by the
Linux Foundation, in collaboration with ETH Zürich Robotic System Lab, to provide generic free software for drone manufacturers based on the Linux kernel. In September 2015, Yuneec released the Typhoon G drone series equipped with a GB203 3-axis gimbal for use with
GoPro cameras, allowing for smooth and stable aerial footage. In October 2015, Yuneec released the Typhoon Wizard, an ultra-lightweight remote control compatible with the Typhoon drone series, designed for one-handed operation and smart follow. In 2015, Yuneec collaborated with the whale conservation organization
Ocean Alliance to create a safer method for collecting whale health data. Ocean Alliance began using Yuneec drones equipped with Petri dishes to collect samples instead of using live tissue biopsy darts. In 2016, Yuneec launched the Breeze, a drone capable of taking UltraHD 4K photos and videos, and announced a retail partnership with
Best Buy for the Typhoon drone series and the Typhoon Wizard controller. In July 2016, Yuneec released Typhoon H, using
Intel RealSense 3D depth camera technology for obstacle avoidance and was awarded CES "Best Drone." In August, the SkyView FPV headset was released, allowing users to be immersed in first-person view control of drones. In 2016, Advanced Technology Labs AG was established near Zurich, Switzerland, focusing on
computer vision, obstacle avoidance, and flight control software development and increasing support for the Dronecode subsidiary open-source flight control software. By the end of 2016, successful adaptation of drones to the Dronecode subsidiary open-source flight control software PX4 was achieved, officially becoming a vital developer and partner in the PX4 drone open-source software ecosystem. PX4 is an open-source flight control software for drones and other unmanned aerial vehicles. In early 2017, Yuneec launched the H520, the world's first commercial drone running PX4 software, and won the "Best of Show" award at CES that year. This six-rotor UAV is aimed at the commercial market, serving industries including firefighting, public safety, construction, surveying, inspection, and mapping. The H520 can carry various cameras as payloads and operate in encrypted mode. Yuneec 3DR H520-G was developed in collaboration with the drone software company 3D Robotics. In March 2017, Yuneec invested in the drone management platform AirMap, which was established in 2014 and is headquartered in Santa Monica, California. AirMap provides technology for developers and drone operators. It offers real-time map services that allow drones to broadcast their flight plans and provide drone operators with information about aircraft in their area and temporary no-fly zones issued by the government. Over 50 major US airports have joined AirMap's D-NAS system (Digital Notice and Awareness System). In 2018, Yuneec relocated its headquarters to Switzerland while expanding its Advanced Technology Lab in Switzerland. In 2018, Wenyan Jiang, the founder of Yuneec, together with architect
I.M. Pei and his family member Chien Chung Pei, established the I.M. Pei Foundation in Hong Kong. In 2019, the foundation completed its registration in both Zurich, Switzerland, and New York, USA. In 2019, Yuneec launched the new foldable portable drone Mantis Q. Later that year, they introduced an upgraded model, Mantis G, a foldable portable palm-sized drone equipped with a gimbal-stabilized camera, which received a CES Innovation Award. In September 2020, Droniq, a joint venture between DFS German Air Navigation Services and Deutsche Telekom, established an exclusive cooperation with Yuneec. Yuneec's H520 drone uses Droniq's "HOD4track" module for tracking and displays its position in Droniq's UAS Traffic Management System to accomplish Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) missions. Yuneec developed a particular casing for the HOD4track module to fit the base of each H520 perfectly. The Yuneec H520 is primarily used for official and commercial flights, such as helping fire departments quickly identify the source of fires from an aerial perspective. In October 2020, Yuneec announced a partnership with the Dutch multispectral and hyperspectral camera developer DB2 Vision, officially entering the precision agriculture field. In 2022, Yuneec released a new series of commercial drones, the H850. == Controversies ==