About ModalAI
Who We Are
ModalAI builds the open foundation of America’s drones. Our Blue UAS autopilots, avionics and aircraft carry a high-performance computer on board and run the VOXL SDK, available in source code form, so every drone can adapt to future missions in software. U.S. labs and manufacturers use them to go from prototype to production fast, and everything is designed and assembled in the USA and NDAA '20 Section 848 compliant.
Our Story
In 2015, a small team inside Qualcomm® built Snapdragon Flight, the first board to put a flight controller and a full companion computer together. It evolved into Qualcomm Flight Pro, and six years later the same technology flew on NASA JPL’s Ingenuity helicopter, the first powered flight on another planet. Co-founder and CEO Chad Sweet was lead engineer for that robotics R&D effort, which created the drone and robotic product lines for Qualcomm’s chipset division.
In 2018, that team spun out to found ModalAI in San Diego with a clear conviction: the United States needed its own trusted source of drone autonomy. Too much of the world’s drone technology was being designed and built overseas, and too much of it was closed. American builders were stuck choosing between capability, trust and control.
ModalAI set out to eliminate that trade-off. We shipped our first VOXL computer in 2019 and have been ramping U.S. manufacturing ever since. We supported research programs like DARPA OFFSET and labs like the University of Pennsylvania’s, and built development platforms like the M500 and Starling. VOXL 2 became the founding autopilot of Blue UAS Framework 2.0, and our autopilots, ESCs, video system, power modules, modems and image sensors are now on the Framework. Seeker Vision FPV and Stinger Vision FPV are both on the DIU Blue UAS Cleared Select list.
Open by Design
Our approach is simple: put the most capable autonomy stack in the smallest, lightest package, and make it open so others can build on it. VOXL 2 Mini runs GPS-denied navigation, on-board AI and low-latency digital video on an 11-gram board, and VOXL 2 runs five concurrent neural networks. The entire VOXL SDK is available in source code form, built on PX4, ArduPilot, ROS and MAVSDK, with open documentation at docs.modalai.com, so customers own their path forward instead of being locked into ours. That is what MOSA means to us.
That openness is why leading U.S. defense research laboratories and national labs use ModalAI drones to build their advanced capabilities. They start on a ModalAI drone, develop on an open and programmable platform, and transition to their own designs on the same modular core. It is also why more than 1,000 partners have built on VOXL, and why our technology sits inside drones across defense, public safety and industry.
Built to Adapt: Software Maneuverability
Because every ModalAI drone carries a high-performance computer, with 15 TOPS of on-board AI on VOXL 2, its capabilities aren’t frozen the day it leaves the factory. New AI models, new sensors, new autonomy behaviors and new countermeasures can be deployed as software. We call this software maneuverability. Software maneuverability is the ability to change what a drone can do, as fast as the threat changes, through software.
It is a track record, not a promise. VOXL SDK 1.1.2 brought hardware-accelerated H.265 and H.264 video compression and always-on RTSP streaming to every VOXL product, including the original Blue UAS Framework 1.0 VOXL line already in the field. On today’s battlefield, where electronic warfare and countermeasures evolve in weeks, the side that updates fastest wins.
Proven at Scale
In 2026, the Department of Defense’s Drone Dominance program put American drone makers to the test on performance, operator feedback and the ability to produce at scale. ModalAI was one of 25 companies invited to Gauntlet I, ranked fourth of the 11 top performers selected for orders, and placed fifth in close-quarters battle scoring in Gauntlet II.
The U.S. needs to build hundreds of thousands of trusted drones, not thousands, and it needs them to stay relevant as threats evolve. ModalAI has spent eight years building the open, adaptable technology, the supply chain and the manufacturing capacity to help get it there. Since 2019 we have grown from 5 to 120 employees and from 1,500 to 43,000 square feet, shipping thousands of products a month.
What We Build
| Product | What it is |
|---|---|
| VOXL 2 | 16 g Blue UAS Framework autopilot: Qualcomm QRB5165, 15 TOPS of on-board AI, PX4 or ArduPilot on the sensors DSP |
| VOXL 2 Mini | The same stack at 11 g and 42 mm square, for the smallest airframes and ground robots |
| Starling 2 Max | GPS-denied development drone on VOXL 2 with 500 g of payload capacity |
| Stinger Vision FPV | Ready-to-fly FPV aircraft on VOXL 2 Mini, on the Blue UAS Cleared Select list |
| VOXL SDK | Visual inertial odometry, SLAM, obstacle avoidance and object detection, with ROS, PX4 and MAVSDK support and open documentation |
Around the boards sits an ecosystem of image sensors, ESCs, radios and cellular add-ons, and a partner network of OEMs building on VOXL. See the VOXL platform for the full line-up.
By the Numbers
- 15+ years of experience in the U.S. robotics and drone industry
- Over $35 million in contracts with the Department of Defense to advance next-generation Blue UAS Framework autopilots
- 1000+ partners enabled with VOXL
- Over 1,000 active users on the ModalAI developer network
- Over 1,000 design wins across commercial and government customers worldwide
Company Timeline
| Year | Milestone |
|---|---|
| 2015 | At Qualcomm, the future ModalAI founders ship Snapdragon Flight, the first board to put a flight controller and a Linux companion computer together. It evolves into Qualcomm Flight Pro. |
| 2018 | ModalAI, Inc. is founded in San Diego and develops the first private 4G/LTE network for sUAS for the DoD's Defense Innovation Unit. |
| 2019 | First product ships: the VOXL companion computer, evolved from Qualcomm Flight Pro. ModalAI joins the Dronecode Foundation. |
| 2020 | VOXL Flight, the first single-board Blue UAS Framework autopilot with a flight controller and companion computer, is released. |
| 2021 | NASA's Ingenuity helicopter, powered by Snapdragon Flight, makes the first powered flight on another planet. ModalAI and Qualcomm launch the Qualcomm Flight RB5 5G Platform, the first 5G and AI-enabled drone platform. |
| 2022 | VOXL 2, the second-generation Blue UAS Framework autopilot on the Qualcomm QRB5165, launches at 16 g. |
| 2023 | VOXL 2 Mini, an 11 g autopilot for sub-250 g drones, and the Starling development drone launch. |
| 2024 | Starling 2 and Starling 2 Max, NDAA-compliant GPS-denied development drones, are announced. |
| 2025 | Seeker Vision FPV and Stinger Vision FPV join the Blue UAS Select list. ModalAI's VRX and VTX, power modules, modems and image sensors are added to the Blue UAS Framework. |
| 2026 | Seeker Vision FPV flies in the Drone Dominance Gauntlets 1 and 2. ModalAI ranks fourth of the 11 top performers selected for orders after Gauntlet I, and places fifth in close-quarters battle scoring in Gauntlet II. |
Work With Us
We are hiring, our engineers answer questions on the developer forum, and sales can be reached through the contact page.