What CollMot Entertainment does

CollMot Entertainment is a Budapest-based private limited company that produces large-scale drone light shows and special effects for entertainment and industrial clients. Founded in 2015 as a spin-off from the ELTE Department of Biological Physics Robotics Laboratory, the company was built by researchers who pioneered nature-inspired autonomous drone swarm technology, including the world's first fully autonomous quadcopter flock in 2014. Core operations center on Skybrush, a proprietary drone swarm management software ecosystem comprising the closed-source flockctrl onboard control framework (C), the open-core SkyBrush Server backend (Python), the open-source SkyBrush Live frontend (TypeScript), the open-source FlockWave communication protocol, and a forked ArduPilot autopilot. This stack enables self-organizing drone behavior where drones communicate and make collective decisions in flight rather than following predefined routes. The company's commercial offerings span outdoor drone light shows, drone-launched pyrotechnics, aerial image projection via drone-laser technology, drone light paintings, and human-drone interactive performances, as well as industrial applications including bird detection, radiation monitoring, agricultural NDVI measurement, and power grid inspection.

The business operates a custom-built autonomous fleet of 100+ drones and has executed shows in Hungary, the UK, Denmark, Taiwan, China, and Romania for marquee clients including the British Royal Family, the Hungarian Government, Metallica, and major festivals such as Sziget and Neversea. Revenue is generated primarily through custom, quote-based professional service engagements for drone shows (typically 5-8 minutes, 1.5-3 month lead times, multi-year contracts), supplemented by Skybrush software licensing and industrial drone automation services delivered as managed services or standalone products. Go-to-market is direct enterprise field sales targeting event organizers, government agencies, and festival producers, with no intermediary channels. Public pricing is not disclosed. The company has supplemented commercial revenue with Hungarian NKFIH research grants, including a HUF 200 million share of a 2022-2026 consortium grant for dual-use cooperative autonomy (total project value HUF 10.4 billion), positioning the firm within Hungary's National Laboratory of Cooperative Technologies.

Name

CollMot Entertainment

Legal name

CollMot Robotics Ltd.

Website

https://collmot.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

CollMot Entertainment is a Budapest-based drone light show producer and ELTE university spin-off serving entertainment events and industrial clients. Using proprietary Skybrush swarm control software and a 100+ drone fleet, it has performed for the British Royal Family, Metallica, and audiences up to 700,000.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Drone Light Show Entertainment

NAICS

Motion Picture and Video Production (51211)

SIC

Search, Detection, Navagation, Guidance, Aeronautical Sys (3812), Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900), Services-Prepackaged Software (7372)

akta.pro primary industry

Small Unmanned Aerial Systems (sUAS) & Multirotor Drones (IMABAIAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

UAS Ground Control Stations (GCS) & Remote Operations Infrastructure (IMABAIAL)

Keywords

• Drone light shows
• Autonomous drone swarms
• Aerial entertainment services
• Drone swarm control software
• Drone special effects

Headquarters

HQ city

Budapest

HQ country

Hungary

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Drone Light Show Services: Custom drone light show performances for outdoor and indoor events. Pricing includes creation of show content, presentation of the show, and organizing test flights. Project lead time of 2-3 months from contract signing.
2. SkyBrush Software Licensing: Licensing and distribution of SkyBrush software solutions for drone show operators and drone swarm management worldwide.
3. Industrial Drone Applications: Custom drone automation solutions for industrial applications including infrastructure monitoring, agriculture, environmental protection, and defense. Product-as-a-service and standalone product sales.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

CollMot Entertainment designs, develops, and operates large-scale autonomous drone light shows and special effects for outdoor and indoor entertainment events. Its services combine proprietary swarm intelligence software (Skybrush, flockctrl, FlockWave) with a custom-built drone fleet of 100+ drones to deliver choreographed aerial performances synchronized to music, including drone-launched pyrotechnics, aerial laser image projection, drone light paintings, and human-drone interactive shows. The company also licenses its Skybrush software ecosystem and provides industrial drone automation solutions for monitoring and inspection.

Product overview

CollMot Entertainment is a pioneer in drone light shows and special effects entertainment, founded in 2015 as a spin-off from Eötvös Loránd University (ELTE) Robotics Laboratory. The company's product portfolio centers on Skybrush, an industrial drone swarm management software ecosystem comprising SkyBrush Live (open-source frontend), SkyBrush Server (backend), FlockWave communication protocol, flockctrl onboard control framework, and forked ArduPilot autopilot. These software components power both entertainment services (outdoor drone light shows, aerial image projection, drone light paintings, drone-launched pyro, human-drone interaction) and industrial applications (autonomous monitoring, surveying, and inspection). The core differentiator is proprietary swarm intelligence enabling true self-organizing drone behavior rather than predefined route-following. The company also offers the Outdoor Autonomous Drone Workstation for fully automated remote drone operations.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Skybrush: Industrial drone swarm management software solution developed by CollMot, including SkyBrush Server (open-core ground control backend), SkyBrush Live (open-source ground control frontend), and SkyBrush Studio for Blender. Used by drone show operators worldwide.
• flockctrl
• FlockWave

Products and services

• Outdoor Drone Light Shows Large-scale drone light show entertainment service featuring numerous colorful drones in custom 3D formations and sculptures to create giant-scale images, animations, and text in the sky, synchronized to music for outdoor and indoor events.
• Aerial Image Projection Drone-laser projection service enabling presentation of giant 3D, colorful animated images and text on a floating screen in the night sky at hundreds of meters scale, created in partnership with phase7 performing.arts.
• Drone-launched Pyrotechnics Pyrotechnics launched from drone swarms creating precisely positioned static patterns or dynamic shooting-star effects with independently triggered pyro units per drone, offering a novel alternative to traditional fireworks.
• Drone Light Paintings Sky painting service using dozens of self-organizing intelligent drones to create giant 3D images hundreds of meters in scale, visible on long-exposure photos or projected live on screens, for cities, buildings, and events.
• Human-Drone Interaction Performances Performance service enabling real-time interaction between drone swarms and performing artists including acrobats, LED jugglers, dancers, and magicians moving in synchronized choreographies at live events.
• Skybrush Drone Swarm Controller Integrated software ecosystem (SkyBrush Server, SkyBrush Live, FlockWave protocol, flockctrl onboard framework) for safe operation, management, and control of drone swarms and drone shows. Licensed and distributed to drone show operators worldwide.
• Industrial Drone Swarm Applications Custom drone automation solutions for industrial applications including infrastructure monitoring, agriculture measurements (NDVI), environmental protection (bird detection), radiation monitoring, and power grid inspection, delivered as product-as-a-service or standalone product sales.

Quantifiable outcome

• Zero accidents in seven years of live operation
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature8 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• National Laboratory of Cooperative Technologies ConsortiumcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Hungarian consortium (Techtra-led) for dual-use reconnaissance drone swarms. CollMot provides flockctrl and Skybrush technology for cooperative autonomy of ground and air vehicles. Funded by NKFIH 2022-2026.
• ELTE Department of Biological Physics - Robotics LaboratorycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFounding research institution where CollMot originated. Provides ongoing research foundation for autonomous drone swarm technology. Team members came from this laboratory as pioneers of nature-inspired autonomous drone swarm technology.
• phase7 performing.arts BerlincoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLong-term artistic collaboration partner for major international events. Created multiple world-first drone shows including aerial laser projections and large-scale outdoor performances in Germany, Taiwan, Denmark, and China.
• SZTAKI Systems and Control Lab / National Lab for Autonomous SystemsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAutonomous control of indoor drone swarms using Skybrush technology and research collaboration.
• Spider Group (Romania)minorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorRomanian partner agency for Neversea Festival drone show collaboration, working together to create Peroni brand activation.
• Ágnes Előd / Open Dimension LtdcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOngoing artistic collaboration creating drone sculpture studies and 3D animations for major performances including Taiwan dragon and St. Stephen's Day shows.
• Lime CreativeminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPartner agency for anniversary celebrations at Graphisoft office park event.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• EHang: Chinese autonomous aerial vehicle company with drone swarm light show services and broader urban air mobility ambitions. Comparable as a large-scale player operating drone shows as part of a wider autonomous aviation portfolio.
• DJI: World's largest commercial drone manufacturer. Broad incumbent whose drone hardware platforms underpin much of the drone show ecosystem (including CollMot's industrial integrations), representing both a supplier and potential competitive threat as DJI expands into show-specific solutions.

Direct peers

• Verity Studios: Swiss-based drone light show company, widely regarded as a global leader in autonomous indoor drone performances. Most directly comparable to CollMot as a competing drone show producer using proprietary swarm control software.
• Verge Aero: US-based drone show company offering end-to-end drone show hardware and software systems for event producers. Direct competitor in the drone light show market with proprietary drones and show design software.
• Dronisos: French drone show company specializing in indoor and outdoor drone swarm performances for entertainment venues and corporate events. Comparable European competitor with proprietary indoor drone positioning technology.
• NovaSky (formerly Great Lakes Drone Company): North American drone show operator with proprietary fleet and choreography capabilities. Directly comparable as a competing drone show service provider targeting large-scale enterprise and municipal events.
• SKYMAGIC: UK-headquartered drone show company producing large-scale outdoor drone performances for events and brand activations. Directly comparable as a European drone light show competitor serving enterprise clients with multi-hundred-drone fleets.

Others

• ArduPilot: Open-source autopilot software that CollMot has forked and extended for its drone fleet. Comparable as a key enabling technology and ecosystem partner in the drone swarm control stack.
• phase7 performing.arts: Berlin-based artistic performance company that has been CollMot's long-term creative collaboration partner for major international drone shows. Comparable as an artistic collaboration partner within the same drone show delivery value chain.

Emerging players

• UVify: Drone hardware company whose IFO swarm drones have been used for synchronized light show performances. Comparable as an emerging drone hardware supplier serving the same swarm show market with vertically integrated products.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/CollMotEnt
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCE_410GOfDVuo7AEym9eDbA/videos
• Facebookfacebook.com/collmot
• Instagraminstagram.com/collmot.entertainment

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

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 CollMot Entertainment