About
Adam Bry has built the largest American drone manufacturer, and the clearest answer the United States has to DJI's dominance — a company DJI itself tried to buy in 2014, when Skydio had raised about $3 million and its three founders flew to Shenzhen and walked away. He was a national champion radio-controlled aerobatics pilot at sixteen, and has essentially spent his career translating what a pilot knows into software that lets aircraft fly themselves: first in MIT's Robust Robotics Group on GPS-denied flight, then as a co-founder of Google X's Project Wing, then at Skydio from 2014. Its drones now fly themselves for utilities, police forces and every branch of the Department of Defense, with about 22,000 in American military service. In April 2026 he raised a deliberately small $110 million at a $4.4 billion valuation, making the point publicly that the business now largely funds itself.
Beyond investing
- Education
- Read mechanical engineering at Olin College and took a master's in aeronautics and astronautics at MIT in 2012, in the Robust Robotics Group.
- Communities
- Appointed to the Federal Aviation Administration's Drone Advisory Committee in 2021.
From Adam's own website — common ground for a warm intro.
Co-founder & CEO at Skydio
Intro paths
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In turn, Adam can intro founders to Skydio's investors below.
Skydio's investors · 15
AccelPalo Alto · $1.6M – $70M checksAndreessen HorowitzMenlo Park · $500K – $50M checks · since 2021In-Q-TelTysons · $100K – $2.5M checksIVP (Institutional Venture Partners)San Francisco · $15M – $75M checksKhosla VenturesMenlo Park · $5K – $50M checksLinse CapitalSan Juan · since 2022Lobby CapitalPalo AltoLockheed Martin VenturesBethesdaMana VenturesEsteroNext47Palo AltoNTT DOCOMO VenturesTokyoPerot JainDallas · $500K checksPlayground GlobalPalo Alto · $1M – $20M checksU.S. Air Forcesince 2019UP PartnersSanta Monica · $1M – $10M checks
Co-founders at Skydio
Experience
- SkydioCo-founder & CEOcurrent2014 — presentSan Mateo, California, United States
- Federal Aviation AdministrationAdvanced Aviation Advisory Committee (AAAC) Membercurrent2021 — present
- GoogleSoftware Engineer, Project Wing Google[x]2012 — 2014Mountain View, CA
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)Grad Student - CSAIL2009 — 2012Cambridge, MA
- ROCONARobotics Engineer2007 — 2009Reedley, CA
- Air Force Research LaboratoryIntern2007Dayton Metropolitan Area
Education
- Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyMaster's Degree, Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence2009 — 2012
- Franklin W. Olin College of EngineeringBachelor's Degree, Mechanical Engineering2004 — 2008
Skills & more
Algorithms28Robotics22Sensors12Programming9Engineering10Aerodynamics7Computer Vision7Fluids5UAV5Aerospace Engineering5Testing4Software Engineering4
+8 more
Flight Control SystemsSystems EngineeringSLAMLinuxC++PythonLaTeXCFrom Adam's professional profile.
Frequently asked questions
- Who is Adam Bry?
- Adam Bry has built the largest American drone manufacturer, and the clearest answer the United States has to DJI's dominance — a company DJI itself tried to buy in 2014, when Skydio had raised about $3 million and its three founders flew to Shenzhen and walked away. He was a national champion radio-controlled aerobatics pilot at sixteen, and has essentially spent his career translating what a pilot knows into software that lets aircraft fly themselves: first in MIT's Robust Robotics Group on GPS-denied flight, then as a co-founder of Google X's Project Wing, then at Skydio from 2014. Its drones now fly themselves for utilities, police forces and every branch of the Department of Defense, with about 22,000 in American military service. In April 2026 he raised a deliberately small $110 million at a $4.4 billion valuation, making the point publicly that the business now largely funds itself.
- Where does Adam Bry work?
- Adam Bry is Co-founder & CEO at Skydio.
- What companies did Adam Bry found?
- Adam Bry founded Skydio.
- Where did Adam Bry go to school?
- Adam Bry studied at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Master's Degree, Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence); Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering (Bachelor's Degree, Mechanical Engineering).
Paths to reach Adam
People who overlapped with Adam at the same organization — a shared school or employer with one of them is a warm way in.
Together at SkydioAdam: Co-founder & CEO
Abraham Bachrach2014–2026Co-founder & CTO of SkydioMatt Donahoe2014–2026Co-founder of SkydioTom Loverro2017–2026Investor at IVP (Institutional Venture Partners)Northwestern University - Kellogg School of Management · St. Paul's SchoolDebjit Mukerji2020–2024Partner at NGP CapitalUniversity of California, BerkeleyMatt Hershenson2017–2021Venture Partner at Playground Global
Together at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)Adam: Grad Student - CSAIL
Matt Huang2009–2010Co-founder and Managing Partner at ParadigmDelian Asparouhov2011–2012Partner at Founders Fund and co-founder of VardaMassachusetts Institute of TechnologyPatrick Collison2009–2010Co-founder & CEO of StripeMassachusetts Institute of TechnologyGreg Brockman2010Co-founder & President of OpenAIHarvard University · Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyTsendai Chagwedera2009–2011Partner at EchoVC PartnersMassachusetts Institute of TechnologyNoubar Afeyan2009–2012Investor at Flagship PioneeringMcGill University
Together at Federal Aviation AdministrationAdam: Advanced Aviation Advisory Committee (AAAC) Member
Founder mafias
Massachusetts Institute of Technology mafia546
Also came through, then founded or led a company.
Elad GilPhDFounded Brain Co.Nat FriedmanBachelor of ScienceFounded XamarinMatt HuangB.S.Founded HotspotsDelian AsparouhovDropoutFounded Nightingale +1Drew HoustonBSFounded Dropbox +1Arash FerdowsiComputer ScienceFounded Dropbox
+ 539 more
Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering mafia12
Also came through, then founded or led a company.
Nate SmithElectrical and Computer EngineeringFounded Collate +1Brendan DomsBachelor of ScienceFounded Adni +1Arjun BhatnagarCertificate in Computer EngineeringFounded CloakedSean McBrideBachelor of Science (B.S.)Founded ZanbazaarAlexander DebelovFounded ViroolDhasharath ShrivathsaFounded Radix Labs
+ 5 more
Same school
Also attended Massachusetts Institute of Technology1,295
Fred WilsonCo-founder & Partner at Union Square VenturesElad GilSolo general partner investing through Gil CapitalAileen LeeFounder & Managing Partner of Cowboy VenturesHemant TanejaCEO & Managing Director of General CatalystNat FriedmanCo-lead of Meta Superintelligence Labs; co-founder of NFDGBrad FeldCo-founder of Foundry and Techstars
+ 1,289 more
Also attended Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering18
Josh JungPrincipal at Z Venture CapitalEllen ChisaPartner at boldstart venturesLee EdwardsPartner at Root Ventures Manager, LlcZodi ChalatAssociate at Root Ventures Manager, LlcKate GarrettCo-Founder and Managing Partner at Sonder CapitalEvan MorikawaPartner at Axiom Partners
+ 12 more
Shared employers
Also worked at Skydio11
Tom LoverroInvestor at IVP (Institutional Venture Partners)Debjit MukerjiPartner at NGP CapitalMatt HershensonVenture Partner at Playground GlobalElliot GraebertInvestor at Tq Ventures LlcChing-Yu HuPartner at Next47TJ RylanderGeneral Partner at Next47
+ 5 more
Also worked at Federal Aviation Administration4
Also worked at Google1,588
Ron ConwayFounder of SV AngelElad GilSolo general partner investing through Gil CapitalKai-Fu LeeChairman of Sinovation Ventures and CEO of 01.AIBrian SingermanCo-founder of GPx; Partner Emeritus at Founders FundJess LeePartner and Chief Product Officer at Sequoia CapitalTomasz TunguzFounder & General Partner at Theory Ventures
+ 1,582 more
Also worked at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)448
Aileen LeeFounder & Managing Partner of Cowboy VenturesMatt HuangCo-founder and Managing Partner at ParadigmMichael TruellCo-founder & CEO of CursorRaquel UrtasunFounder & CEO of WaabiColin WebbFounder & CEO of Avatar RoboticsScott BillerInvestor at GV (Google Ventures)
+ 442 more