Great Lakes Drone Company

What Great Lakes Drone Company does

Great Lakes Drone Company is a privately-held LLC founded in 2016 and headquartered in Stevensville/St. Joseph, Michigan, with a team of 11-50 employees. The firm provides professional drone services — including aerial cinematography, infrastructure inspection and surveying, real-estate marketing photography and video, FLIR-based thermal/infrared inspections, multispectral NDVI mapping for agriculture, and event drone coverage — to customers across construction, insurance, real estate, film production, agriculture, public safety, and live-events end markets within the Great Lakes Region. Service delivery relies on small unmanned aerial systems (SUAS) maintained in-house per pilot, FLIR thermal cameras, multispectral sensors, and (through an exclusive regional dealership with PowerVision) PowerRay/PowerDolphin underwater drones capable of 300-foot dives with live video and sonar. The firm also operates two sub-brands — Starlight Aerial Productions for swarm-drone light shows and Great Lakes Rescue for public-safety UAS/ROV emergency services — and provides consultation/training services.

Name

Great Lakes Drone Company

Legal name

Great Lakes Drone Company, LLC

Website

https://greatlakesdronecompany.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Aerial Drone Services

akta.pro primary industry

Aerial Surveying & Crop Scouting (Imaging, Mapping, Stand Counts) (AFACAIAJ)

Keywords

• Aerial drone services
• Drone inspection services
• Aerial cinematography
• Thermal imaging inspection
• Underwater drone services

Headquarters

HQ city

Stevensville

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Drone Inspection Services: Professional drone inspection services for construction, infrastructure, insurance claims, and utilities including thermal/infrared inspections, surveying, and surveillance
2. Aerial Cinematography and Photography: Film production services for feature films, opening/closing shots, and commercial productions using professional aerial drone cinematography
3. Real Estate Drone Services: Aerial photography and videography packages for realtors and property marketers, ranging from $75-$500 per package
4. Event Drone Coverage: Public and private event drone coverage for weddings, festivals, sporting events, and concerts
5. Agriculture Drone Services: Precision agriculture services including multispectral NDVI mapping, crop health analysis, and field monitoring for farmers and agricultural operations
6. Underwater Inspection Services: Underwater inspection, filming, and topographical mapping services for hull inspections, dock/pier inspections, and lost item searches

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Great Lakes Drone Company, LLC provides commercial drone-based services including aerial cinematography and photography, infrastructure inspection, FLIR infrared thermography, NDVI agriculture mapping, underwater drone inspection, and choreographed drone light shows. The company also distributes PowerVision underwater drone hardware (PowerRay, PowerDolphin) as the exclusive dealer for the Great Lakes region and offers paid drone consultation services.

Product overview

Great Lakes Drone Company is a drone service provider offering a comprehensive portfolio of aerial and underwater services. The core offerings include Aerial Cinematography for film/productions, Realtor Services for real estate marketing, Aerial Drone Shows for events, Infrastructure Inspection & Surveillance for construction/engineering, Infrared Thermal Inspection for building diagnostics, Underwater Services using PowerVision ROVs, Agriculture NDVI Mapping for precision farming, and Consultation/Training services. The company also operates two sub-brands: Starlight Drone Shows (swarm drone light shows) and Great Lakes Rescue (emergency response UAS services). Services utilize advanced technologies including FLIR thermal imaging, multispectral NDVI mapping, and underwater sonar systems.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Starlight Aerial Productions: Drone light show services utilizing the latest swarm technology to create a variety of shapes and 3-dimensional formations for events.
• Great Lakes Rescue

Products and services

• Aerial Cinematography
• Realtor Aerial Services
• Drone Light Shows (Starlight Aerial Productions)
• Infrastructure Inspection
• Infrared Thermal Inspection (FLIR)
• Agriculture NDVI Mapping
• Underwater Drone Services
• Drone Consultation Services
• PowerRay Underwater Drone (Retail/Dealer)
• PowerDolphin Surface Drone (Retail/Dealer)

Quantifiable outcome

• Roof repair and replacement cost reduction through targeted infrared inspection
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles6 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

AI capability6 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• PowerVisioncoreOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing Partner · 1 July 2018Exclusive dealer for the Great Lakes Region offering PowerRay and PowerDolphin underwater drones. PowerRay provides up to 300 feet dive capability with LIVE video feed and integrated sonar. PowerDolphin equipped with PowerSeeker sonar and GPS waypoint for intelligent underwater mapping.
• FLIR SystemscoreTechnology or IntegrationFLIR is the global leader in thermal imaging infrared cameras with over 50 years of thermography development. Great Lakes Drone Company uses FLIR cameras for infrared inspections, building diagnostics, and moisture analysis. FLIR cameras provide visual thermal problem identification with precise non-contact temperature measurement.
• Great Lakes RescuecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSubsidiary brand providing specialized UAS ROV drone emergency resource services to public safety agencies throughout Michigan. Focuses on improving operational efficiency across all terrains for emergency first response agencies.
• Starlight Aerial ProductionscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDrone light show brand using the latest swarm technology to create shapes and 3-dimensional formations for spectacular audience experiences. Part of the Starlight Drone Shows ecosystem.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• senseFly (Parrot): Fixed-wing commercial drone manufacturer and mapping solutions provider for surveying, agriculture, and inspection — adjacent competitor to GLDC's 3D mapping and NDVI agriculture services, operating from a hardware-platform base.
• DJI: Dominant commercial drone manufacturer whose enterprise ecosystem and DJI Terra mapping software effectively compete with GLDC's cinematography, inspection, and mapping services across all verticals.
• Skyward (Verizon): Verizon-owned drone services and airspace management platform serving enterprise inspection, mapping, and telecom-infrastructure customers — competes with GLDC's enterprise inspection work from inside a much larger telecom portfolio.
• Skydio: Leading U.S. autonomous drone manufacturer whose enterprise customers increasingly bundle inspection and public-safety services — overlapping GLDC's inspection and Great Lakes Rescue verticals while operating at vastly greater scale.

Direct peers

• FlyGuys: On-demand drone service network connecting customers with certified pilots for inspections, mapping, and surveying — competing head-to-head with GLDC's inspection and surveying offerings through a national pilot network.
• PrecisionHawk: Commercial drone services and analytics platform specializing in aerial data collection for agriculture, construction, and energy — closely comparable to GLDC's NDVI mapping and infrastructure inspection lines.
• DroneBase: National drone services marketplace offering aerial imaging, mapping, and inspection for real estate, construction, and insurance — directly overlapping GLDC's core verticals with a scaled, multi-region platform model.
• Aerial Vantage: Mid-size drone services firm providing aerial imaging, mapping, and inspection across the U.S. — directly comparable to GLDC's construction, real estate, and inspection portfolio with broader geographic reach.
• Measure Global (AgEagle Aerial Systems): Drone data collection and analytics platform serving agriculture, construction, and energy — directly competes with GLDC's NDVI agriculture and infrastructure inspection offerings through turnkey data-as-a-service delivery.

Regional players

• Cyberhawk Innovations: UAV inspection specialist serving oil-and-gas, utilities, and infrastructure primarily in the UK and Middle East — comparable service line to GLDC's infrastructure inspection business but operating in different geographies.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@greatlakesdronecompany
• Xx.com/DroneLightShow
• Facebookfacebook.com/greatlakesdrone
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/great-lakes-drone-company

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Great Lakes Drone Company