The Lily Drone company has folded, admitted defeat, and will not deliver after 3 years, $30M in pre-sales plus $15M in VC funding.
What a spectacular FAIL!
https://www.lily.camera/adventure-comes-end/
IMPORTANT:
This video clearly falls under the category of "Nominative use" a.k.a "Trademark Fair Use" under the (1992) U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
There is no other way to report the news without using the company name. And there was no suggestion of endorsement
or sponsorship.
UPDATE: Lawsuit from the District Attorney:
https://techcrunch.com/2017/01/12/sf-district-attorney-lawsuit-against-lily-may-have-prompted-refund/
And refunds might not happen, they owe the bank:
https://www.suasnews.com/2017/01/the-people-vs-lily-robotics/
Forum: http://www.eevblog.com/forum/blog/eevrant-lily-drones-folds-after-$30m-in-pre-sales/'>http://www.eevblog.com/forum/blog/eevrant-lily-drones-folds-after-$30m-in-pre-sales/
EEVblog Main Web Site: http://www.eevblog.com
The 2nd EEVblog Channel: http://www.youtube.com/EEVblog2
Support the EEVblog through Patreon!
http://www.patreon.com/eevblog
EEVblog Amazon Store (Dave gets a cut):
http://astore.amazon.com/eevblogstore-20
T-Shirts: http://teespring.com/stores/eevblog
💗 Likecoin – Coins for Likes: https://likecoin.pro/ @eevblog/dil9/hcq3

Hi. Time for another beach time rant. Sorry about any wind noise. I Do have the wind reduction filter on this, but audio always gonna be an issue in somewhere like this.

Yes. I do have a Thunderbirds t-shirt on. Look at that. Awesome.

Anyway. Ive Just got an e-mail from Lily Drones You might remember the name. They, about ... more than a year and a half ago, I think it was May 2015.

They made a big splash with this autonomous tracking drone thing. You would have like a wrist transmitter or whatever and it would transmit your position to the drone, Which you know, fitted in the palm of your hand Just let it go and it flies up in the air And it follows you around, you know if you are skiing Down a mountain or something like that It will fly around your head and follow you around All sorts of whizz-bang stuff. Uh... the wind's picking up.

know it looks fantastic that a real slick video and always actually are courting quiet type in the time and I thought they're probably not going in. I love this. There could be a lot of issues with this thing but you know that way get like I thought it was any life 500 box or something which is a fair amount for driving but for what the capability of what it was I go it what they claimed that this thing was going to do and I thought yeah why not all and I all back it'll be good love material and all that sort of stuff if they ever to liver thing I can remember the original delivery schedule and all that time. Anyway, this was unusual in that it was not a crowdfunding campaign.

wasn't Kickstarter was an IndieGoGo they actually had two or three orders on their website. Now this was a venture back at all back venture capital-backed company they had got I believe was like a million in the first rather than 40 million. said like 50 million total venture capital funding. and then this video went viral of these United Interesting sucked in 60,000 people and to pay like 500 bucks of driving.

So they got about 30 million dollars in three orders for this thing. So this was a cashed-up company. This was like the United like a 45 million dollar cash top company working on a year before that or something like that. Oh yeah, the winds bring it out.

sorry anyway gonna name our today that sorry. The journeys over want what I want and they haven't delivered I'm not going to say that happened to live it anything but haven't delivered. Any backers have delivered baby units to be the testers I was not one of mine asked him. in fact, I think I believe I even inquired for advertising on my website or thinking maybe on my youtube channel or something.

They didn't know that I was a backer of this thing and down. Anyway, I send my rights and everything and they didn't them didn't get back to me and said hey, you know I can be part of the video program or whatever you know I've got a big YouTube channel and all that sort of jazz and you know they didn't really hear back from them Anyway, they just sent out an email today and I think it's hit the news anywhere else yet but done yet? The Journeys over and we're not going to deliver anything. sorry. Apparently the reason is is they were hoping to get some new funding some new Vc funding in order to deliver the actual units because as of December 23rd on Twitter on the Twitter account they were saying year we're on track for delivering.
They said they're going to deliver in December and like us, orders in December everyone else in January. So they're all saying this right up until the last minute when what the wheels fell off the Billy card they couldn't get the funding. They had to admit that sorry Journeys I have a lot to their credit my are offering refunds, but I'm a little bit skeptical of this cuz I don't know where they're going to get the 30-yard million dollars from. As if they had 30 million bucks to refund the 60,000 backers at 500 bucks apart, it was even more than that.

he paid for it later. it was like a thousand bucks or something I think was much more expensive. Winter: I Don't know where they're going to get their money from the rerun everyone for this thing. So I yeah the verdicts still out anyway.

fuel in a form to get my refund. whether or not I'll never see my money I'd Ivan This just is a classic example of a company that got too big for their boots. Instead of just focusing on the product and delivery and focusing on delivering. and when you got that much adventure back in funding, you should have had a product almost ready to go into production.

That's going to sound like I'm I can't remember the exact details and have to go through. This is not going to be published in a video is just a single taking I Can't do any other post research before I upload. Classic example of just you know I getting too big for their boots and trying to be you know the best I mean they created by this may be the best drug there are some thing with. doesn't matter what real artist deliver was that job so he stole the line from somebody else.

10 Anyway yeah, real engineering companies deliver That could just die like a pro right up until the last minute. Promising as typical corporate stuff. right? right up until like just like a week ago. what is it now twelfth of generally and in 20-30 December This to tweeting out that year where we're delivering all that sort of stuff but it all hinged on I thought they were gonna get some more venture capital funding and they didn't know what they find him, they just tied him.

money went to their head I don't either. got too much money there are two popular i try to do. too much would be my guess would be interesting to get the inside story of this one actually because it's basically and I 50 million 45 million bucks in funding, 30 million bucks in pre-orders and they took the money from your credit card. It's not like it was, just don't you know the money vanished from my account you know said I actually got the money upfront about rush coming up big time to be interesting to hear the story this one I think was a background but they had a genuine go.
this wasn't a scam or anything like that. I think they just and I tried to be corporate. you know the one to be the shoes being drunk and stupid just focusing on delivering the actual product is being tested. haven't been I don't know where my notorious actually knowing the real operation of it and I saw it I know about the original video how photoshop the fight that was with all their capabilities that might have been reopened.

want to be real? Wear something and I don't know it was a firmware issue in the end because this is a lot of smart inside this thing it is just like a United as basically it's just a drug right? but it's all the smarts have been able to track someone, figure out where they are, how far they are, which camera angle to get an independent around them like this is a skiing down the hill and stuff like that. and I so I thought it'd be really good for adventure stuff. Maybe on the beach? Here's something like this. You know, like you're running down the beach, or you doing something? Whatever.

you know, you're playing frisbee or whatever you want, this drone tracking you from 10 meters away just getting the optimum shot and that's gonna be yeah. I think they're beautiful than I can chew their. that's that's complex algorithm stuff and probably very difficult denial and denied the chance. I like to do this.

take everyone taking its name or Epoxy venture capital. Funny. 30 million bucks in three orders. It's an enormous i don't know if you know, but bigger pre-order campaign.

So I think there's been a crowdfunded that because they're at 30 million box. but yeah, this was pre orders on the website, so it's probably near record breaking in that aspect and well, they didn't deliver. Jones Anyone thought that was really interesting? If you got any inside in five, you know what's going on there if you got any ideas of what we were on. I Reckon it was mostly the tracking stuff except when otherwise it's just a drug, right? It works as a true sure, that's right before road isn't and flies and hovers and you know it's got a pen to your thing, the camera whatever fried all basic stuff and I run-of-the-mill stuff you buy for a couple hundred bucks.

Off-the-shelf these days. So it's going to be the automated tracking algorithms and everything else how they're doing the tracking I think was a watch wasn't I'm not entirely sure of the details, but yeah that the new how far away it was a thing it didn't visually. maybe they pivoted in the engineering this thing. maybe they thought all year will use watching it.

somebody against and I some smiles came in and went all we can do all this and I've just visually we can track and target with an object and then run a little something because why you lied I was just kissing ride but might be like having too many times didn't focus on their original solution of the original technical solution. Really trying 1111 next time that be a lesson to you when you take another big party at least name going to try refund will 33 bucks coming from and I catch you next time.

Avatar photo

By YTB

20 thoughts on “Eevrant: lily drones folds. a $45m fail!”
  1. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Gregg Jaskiewicz says:

    Get a boom shoot mic or lapel? Or both 😉

  2. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Saiyan_Prince Studios says:

    lily is now $200 at b&h in 2019. Worth it? Seems like a great deal for a 4k drone.

  3. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Ben Hiatt says:

    Don't understand why you would choose that location to film

  4. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Blastman 8888 says:

    This video doesn't even touch on what actually happened with Lilycam I had pre-ordered back in 2015 after many dates changed lot of excuses they eventually told everyone they would refund. Later they said the only way they could refund was to go into bankruptcy which made the refund take almost 2 years. What they did was commit fraud they shot videos of what looked like a lilycam drone in reality it was being controlled by someone with a controller. The watch in the videos being worn by people going down rapids or snowboarding wasn't even operational. It was basically fake videos what they also did was use the pre-order money to borrow millions of dollars securing those loans using money they already owed product for. The DA's office in SF filed charges against the owners my understanding a deal was worked out if they refund everyone the charges would be dropped. That's how everyone got their money back if it wasn't for the county stepping in I doubt we would have gotten a penny back but prison time usually helps in motivating someone. This will be the last time I ever pre-order anything even if it was discounted by 50%.

  5. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars AmigaMan says:

    Inside Info:
    No one will get a drones because they would have to sell all the houses and cars they bought with YOUR money!
    Dave you got scammed m8.

  6. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Jens Kuppe says:

    what alternatives are out there?

  7. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars justice freedome says:

    Lily was a scam

  8. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Daniel Malek says:

    Don't know if this have been said already, but they refunded your purchase (I did not pay through any Kickstarter, but directly at http://www.lily.camera). I was refunded when I cancelled my order. Dollar also went up over the 2 years I waited, so I earned more money than saving them in the bank 🙂

  9. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Matthew %0Hunziker says:

    Who the hell pre-orders stupid

  10. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars craig ward says:

    hold 45 million for 2 years at a 3% return and bank a cool 3 million and refund everyone and walk away.

  11. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars R James says:

    This will make a good Sci Fi Movie…Lol

  12. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Smart Boy one says:

    Talk..talk…talk….talk…..like a pimp

  13. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Ed Felty says:

    They're crying all the way to the bank.

  14. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Jack says:

    As soon as the Mavic was released, I asked for my money back, they gave it back no issue. I actually made money due to exchange rates. I didn't buy a Mavic. But its tech was far superior to the Lily yet to be released. The DJI Spark is an absolutely spectacular piece of tiny tech that Lily had no chance in competing against.

  15. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars sandnes2504 says:

    sickening video

  16. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Steve Sloan says:

    My initial deep thought was it was real and then legally made a black project, and is now the project is under some military body, being designed to hone in on our mobile hone, I mean phone. Killer plane ✈️ drone have been a thing for decades. Can you imagine a time where there's three drones for each of us and no one even knows that people we know on social media are dead and been replaced by an Ai system?

    Just saying! 😂🤔🤘🏼👊🏻🍀

  17. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars vandalo sand says:

    tanta mierda. no tiene pruebas siquiera ha comprado a lily

  18. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars FÁBIO PERES says:

    dji spark is the new name of lily

  19. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Rygel Raimie says:

    Take components from another drone, smack it to a new body and poof! You got a new drone to present with accompanying high tech ad video to entice unsuspecting investors.

  20. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Kieran says:

    "Aaaaaaaaaaand it's gone."

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *