Aerial Sports League

What Aerial Sports League does

Aerial Sports League (ASL) is a privately held US drone sports entertainment and media company founded in 2011 and headquartered in the San Francisco Bay Area. It operates four interlocking business lines: (1) live drone racing and combat spectator events, including the Xfinity-sponsored CA Drone Speed Challenge held at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento; (2) bespoke corporate event production and immersive experiences delivered through its Museum of Future Sports (MoFS) subsidiary for clients such as SONY and eBay; (3) STEM drone education and team-building programs run with Hiller Aviation Museum, East Bay YMCA, and other educational partners; and (4) proprietary HIRO ballistic-rated, nearly indestructible airframe hardware sold exclusively to enterprise, government and educational buyers including NASA Applied Physics Lab and the US Department of Defense. The underlying technology stack combines FPV (First Person View) racing drones, wireless video, Velocidrone simulator integration for online-to-live qualifier pipelines, VR and immersive media production, and the HIRO airframe platform.

ASL's commercial model mixes project-based professional services (custom event production, corporate team building, education programming), transactional hardware sales (HIRO airframes with optional electronics and avionics packages), and sponsor-driven live event spectatorship (Xfinity/Comcast title sponsorships, arena partnerships). Go-to-market is event-driven and community-led at the grassroots level (Maker Faire Bay Area, drone meetups, STEM workshops that have trained thousands of pilots) combined with enterprise field sales for HIRO hardware into government, defense and education channels. ASL claims 1M+ live spectators, 8.5M+ video views and 50K+ social followers since 2015, and has executed a 2019 strategic cooperation agreement with Aero Sports Association referencing an international aviation education base, a drone sports training base, and an invention lab at Hiller Museum in San Carlos, California. The company is founder-led by CEO Marque Cornblatt and COO Douglas Burnet, with advisors Nolan Bushnell and Sherry Huss, and has no disclosed institutional venture funding beyond its 2015 Highway1 accelerator participation.

Name

Aerial Sports League

Legal name

Aerial Sports League

Website

https://aerialsports.tv

Company type

Private

Founded year

2011

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Aerial Sports League operates live drone racing and combat spectator events, bespoke corporate event production via its Museum of Future Sports subsidiary, STEM drone education programs, and HIRO airframe hardware sales, serving corporate clients, government and education buyers, and consumer spectators.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Drone Sports Entertainment

NAICS

Spectator Sports (7112), Other Spectator Sports (711219), Sporting and Athletic Goods Manufacturing (33992), Sporting and Athletic Goods Manufacturing (339920)

SIC

Aircraft (3721), Aircraft & Parts (3720), Services-Motion Picture Theaters (7830)

akta.pro primary industry

Consumer Non-Imaging Drones (Toy/FPV, Racing, Delivery/Utility) (CRACARAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

Drones & UAV Retail (Consumer & Prosumer) (CRACAHAC), Drone Parts, Batteries & Accessories Retail (CRACAHAL), Sports Event Production & Broadcast Operations (In-venue, Jumbotron, live feed) (MPAGAMAI)

Keywords

• Drone sports entertainment
• FPV drone racing
• STEM drone education
• Corporate team building events
• Drone hardware sales

Headquarters

HQ city

San Francisco

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Event Production Services: Custom drone sports activations, RC racing games, VR experiences, and immersive environments for corporate events and venues. Includes one-on-one drone flight training, Driver's Seat FPV racing, and VR social media selfie booths.
2. Drone Hardware Sales: Sale of HIRO indestructible airframes and related electronics to enterprise, government, and educational institutions.
3. Education Programs: STEM drone education programs including 2.5-hour micro-scale FPV racing drone classes where participants build and keep drones. Team building programs for corporate clients.
4. Live Event Spectatorship: Revenue generated from hosting large-scale drone racing events with paying spectators, including esports crossovers and partnerships with major brands like Xfinity.

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Aerial Sports League produces and operates live drone sports entertainment, including FPV drone racing and drone combat events, while selling related event production services to corporate, venue, and brand clients under the Museum of Future Sports (MoFS) brand. It also delivers STEM drone education and team-building programs to schools, museums, and corporate customers, and manufactures the HIRO indestructible airframe for sale to enterprise, government, and educational institutions.

Product overview

Aerial Sports League operates as a multi-product drone sports and entertainment company consisting of Drone Entertainment (live racing and combat events), Event Production Services delivered under the Museum of Future Sports (MoFS) brand, Drone Education Programs (STEM and team building), the Xfinity Race Series (competitive esports crossover events), HIRO Airframes (industrial-grade hardware for enterprise and education), and specialty events like Drinks & Drones. The portfolio spans spectator entertainment, education, hardware sales, and event production services.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Drone Education Programs STEM and team-building drone education including 2.5-hour micro-scale FPV racing drone classes where participants build and keep drones; delivered to corporate, museum, YMCA, and school audiences.
• Event Production Services (Museum of Future Sports / MoFS) Bespoke drone sports and immersive technology event production offered under the Museum of Future Sports (MoFS) brand, with activations including drone racing, drone combat, RC racing, VR experiences, social media selfie booths, and one-on-one flight training.
• Xfinity Race Series (CA Drone Speed Challenge) Comcast Xfinity-sponsored drone racing competition series featuring esports crossovers, online simulator qualifiers via Velocidrone, and live arena championship events including the CA Drone Speed Challenge at Golden 1 Center.
• HIRO Airframes Proprietary ballistic-rated, near-indestructible drone airframes designed for harsh training and field conditions; sold in bulk (with optional electronics, avionics, and radio packages) exclusively to enterprise, government, and educational organizations.
• Drone Entertainment (Live Racing and Combat Events) Live spectator drone racing and drone combat events hosted by ASL, marketed as robotic sports entertainment for the masses and described as 'a modern Chuck E. Cheese for adults' by Popular Mechanics.
• Drinks & Drones Adult cocktail-style drone flying events combining hands-on drone flight with social entertainment, positioned as a distinct branded live experience under ASL's entertainment line.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 1 million live spectators hosted since 2015
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core, minor and flagship.

• Aero Sports Association (ASA)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 13 August 2019Strategic cooperation agreement signed August 13, 2019 at ASA headquarters in San Jose, CA. Agreement includes working with Hiller Museum to establish an annual international aviation forum, international aviation education base, drone sports and combat training base, and invention lab for drone technologies at Hiller Museum in San Carlos, California. Signed by ASA President Shudong Li and ASL CEO Marque Cornblatt.
• Hiller MuseumcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 13 August 2019Partner location for establishing international aviation education base, drone sports training base, and invention lab for drone technology testing and development in San Carlos, California.
• East Bay YMCAminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for drone team building programs, providing hands-on drone building and piloting experiences for YMCA participants.
• Museum of Future SportscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerASL has grown into the Museum of Future Sports (MoFS), a STEAM education organization focusing on tech-enabled sports and equitable tech literacy for all kids. Founder of the Museum of Future Sports, a STEAM education organization.
• Xfinity (Comcast)flagshipGTM or Marketing PartnerXfinity sponsored the CA Drone Speed Challenge, described as 'The Biggest Drone Race in California History' at Golden 1 Center. $25,000 esports crossover event featuring multi-week online qualifier series.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• Velocidrone: Velocidrone is a leading FPV drone racing simulator used for online qualifier events. Already integrated with ASL via the CA Drone Speed Challenge, Velocidrone overlaps on the esports-crossover side of drone sports and competes for pilot engagement time.
• ImmersionRC: ImmersionRC designs FPV video transmitters, goggles, and components used by racing pilots. Adjacent to ASL in the FPV hardware stack and serves the same pilot community through retail channels.
• Fat Shark (walksnail/AVATAR successor brands): Fat Shark historically dominated FPV goggles for racing pilots. Sits in the same FPV equipment supply chain as ASL's drone hardware and education programs and competes for pilot mindshare.
• Rise Drone Services: Rise provides drone training, education, and event experiences for schools, camps, and corporate clients. Closely comparable to ASL's STEM education and corporate team-building service lines.

Direct peers

• FLYMOTION Drone Services: FLYMOTION provides drone services including training, public safety, and event production, with a portfolio that overlaps ASL's enterprise training and event-activation offerings for government and corporate clients.
• MultiGP: MultiGP is one of the largest grassroots drone racing organizations, running chapters, leagues, and championships worldwide. Competes with ASL for community pilots, event sponsorships, and grassroots FPV racing audiences.
• Drone Racing League (DRL): DRL is the largest commercial drone racing league globally, running televised events, professional pilots, and sponsorships. Direct competitor to ASL in the drone sports spectator and competitive category, with materially larger funding and broadcast reach.

Broad incumbents

• Skydio: Skydio is a leading US-based autonomous drone manufacturer focused on enterprise, defense, and public safety. Comparable to ASL on the government/enterprise hardware sales side, although Skydio targets a different drone use case than sports.
• DJI (Drone Industry): DJI is the dominant global consumer and prosumer drone manufacturer, including FPV systems. While not a direct drone-sports league, DJI's FPV ecosystem underpins the equipment used in ASL's racing events and education programs.

Regional players

• XPeng AeroHT (eHang comparable: EHang): EHang is a leading Chinese passenger and autonomous aerial vehicle company developing themed drone shows and aerial entertainment experiences. Adjacent to ASL's drone entertainment business, especially given ASL's strategic cooperation with ASA's Anyang project in China.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/aerialsports
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCmvid0S7tn1k8AbkD0W3AyA/videos
• Facebookfacebook.com/groups/aerialsports
• Instagraminstagram.com/aerial_sports_league

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

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 Aerial Sports League