24 April 2025

The next measure of America's trade war with China is now looming for drone technology, as U.S. authorities continue to consider a ban on Chinese manufacturers.

Companies such as Nvidia, Broadcom, AMD and the Dutch machine manufacturer ASML have already felt the effects of this in recent years. The USA wants to prevent China from catching up with the latest AI chips. Bans have already been imposed on the export of certain computer chips, as well as the machines used to produce them. Accordingly, companies must be prepared for the fact that the Chinese market has become a no-go area for some of them.

The race for technological leadership between the USA and China seems to be rapidly entering the next round. The U.S. Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) of the Department of Commerce is examining a new regulation to restrict or even ban Chinese drones in the United States of America due to national security concerns. To date, Chinese companies, in particular DJI, have a market share of over 75 percent of the U.S. drone market. China's share of privately used hobby drones is more than 90 percent.

A ban on the products of these companies would completely transform the industry in the U.S. market and create a huge gap in America's drone market.

However, there is also opportunity.

With Chinese drones and accessories commanding such a high market share in the U.S., a new market worth billions would open up for Western companies if America outright bans or significantly restricts technology and products from China.

ZenaTech, for example, offers AI-equipped drones, plans to leverage quantum computing, and is set to offer a Drone as a Service division, where the company will offer drone solutions on a pay-for-use bases such as for crop spraying and inventory management. In addition, ZenaTech took another step towards NDAA (National Defense Act Administration) compliance for its entire supply chain, as well as seeking applications for Green UAS and Blue UAS in order to be on the supplier list for the US defense complex and NATO.

ZenaTech is also expanding rapidly in the USA. Most recently, the subsidiary ZenaDrone moved into a production facility in Arizona to produce drones for the U.S. Department of Defense and NATO.

The facility produces and assembles ZenaDrone 1000 multifunctional autonomous AI drones for the U.S. military. ZenaTech has already expanded its market position through three acquisitions in the field of land surveying. The current focus is on the defense, warehouse-and-logistics, and agriculture sectors.

However, any bans or restrictions on Chinese providers could suddenly open the window to a larger accessible market accross government and commercial potential customers. 

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