Startup · United States
ModalAI
HQ San Diego, CaliforniaFounded 201851-200 employeesUpdated
ModalAI develops sUAS, drone and robotics autonomous computer vision, flight control and communications systems, and manufactures in the USA.
Federal Obligations by Year (All USAspending, as Reported at the Time)
| Fiscal year | Direct: contracts |
|---|---|
| FY2026 (partial) | $2.0M |
| FY2025 | $2.5M |
| FY2024 | $1.9M |
Direct is the company's own reviewed UEIs. Reported by USAspending is subsidiaries as reported by USAspending: recipients that name this company as their parent, not yet reviewed ownership.
Directly matched recipients (up to 12)
UEIs matched to this organization, largest obligations first. Subsidiary recipients are not included in this list; their attributed obligations can appear in the company totals above.
- MODALAI, INC. · PGJWE887TDM9 · $6.4M
Each action is credited by the ownership basis shown in its column. Reported-parent rows count for ModalAI only for the period a subsidiary reported ModalAI as its parent; reviewed links follow their reviewed dates. Net of de-obligations; these are obligations, not ceilings. They come from the whole USAspending baseline (every recipient size, contracts and assistance) and are a separate view from the curated contract totals on this page. FY2026 and later are partial, as on Markets.
Programs1 program
Programs1
| Program | Role | Program status | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Drone Dominance Program | Competing bidder | Production | Reported |
- Competing bidder · Production
Systems9
- MVXFPV video streaming system consisting of a VRX ground unit and VTX air unit for encrypted HD video.
- Starling 2Development drone with QRB5165 compute and PX4 flight controller.
- Starling 2 MaxDevelopment drone with QRB5165 compute, 5G connectivity, and multiple onboard image sensors.
- Stinger Vision FPVReady-to-fly FPV drone developed by ModalAI.
- VOXL 2Companion computer for drones and robots with an integrated PX4/ArduPilot flight controller.
- VOXL 2 MiniU.S.-made autonomy compute platform used in ModalAI’s Stinger Vision FPV drone.
Newest unveiled first. Systems that belong to a government program link to the program page, where variants, costs and contracts are.
Capabilities1
| Technology | Role | Maturity | TRL | Notes | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Uncrewed systems | Developer | — | — | classify_sectors run 37, haiku, taxonomy 2026-10-18b: Small UAS, drone autonomy, computer vision and flight control hardware made in the USA; no defense or government use is stated. | Reported |
- Developerclassify_sectors run 37, haiku, taxonomy 2026-10-18b: Small UAS, drone autonomy, computer vision and flight control hardware made in the USA; no defense or government use is stated.—Reported
Maturity and TRL describe this organization's work; the field-wide maturity is on each technology's page.
Supply Chain1 facility
Facilities1
| Facility | Kind | Location | Status | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| San Diego headquarters | Headquarters | San Diego, CA, United States | Operating | Confirmed |
- San Diego headquartersHeadquarters · San Diego, CA, United StatesOperatingConfirmed
People5
| Person | Role |
|---|---|
| Chad Sweet | Co-founder |
| Donald Hutson | Co-founder |
| Chad Sweet | Co-founder and CEO |
| Chad Sweet | CEO and Co-founder |
| Donald Hutson | Founder and CTO |
Sources9
Profile3
- 1
Sixth-Domain · Supports Organization · country, Organization · kind
“{"country": "USA", "hq_iso2": "US", "id": "4989ec43-a887-4af3-82d8-f3107d83b9a2"}”
- 2DatabaseModalAI company profile
Octen Business Search · Supports Organization · hq region, Organization · linkedin url, Organization · ownership
“hq_region: California (profile: 8880 Rehco Rd, STE A, San Diego, California 92121, US)”
- 3CompanyModalAI careers
Supports Organization · hq city
“We are a San Diego company that spun out of Qualcomm in 2018”
Systems3
- 4
ModalAI · Supports Organization · description, Organization · name, Organization · website, System
“ModalAI develops sUAS, drone and robotics autonomous computer vision, flight control and communications systems, and manufactures in the USA.”
- 5CompanyUS-Made FPV Drone Components
ModalAI · Supports System
“VOXL ESC Mini](https://www.modalai.com/products/voxl-esc-mini) — 5.87 g 4-in-1 brushless for aircraft under 750 g”
- 6CompanyStinger Vision FPV
ModalAI · Supports System
“Powered by [VOXL 2 Mini](https://www.modalai.com/products/voxl-2-mini) — ModalAI's U.S.-made autonomy compute platform — Stinger Vision delivers AI-enabled FPV flight”
Supply chain1
- 7
People2
- 8
- 9
Supports Organization, Organization · employee range, Organization · founded year, Role
“ModalAI builds the open foundation of America’s drones. Our Blue UAS autopilots, avionics and aircraft carry a high-performance computer on board and run the VOXL SDK, available in source code fo”
Each fact on this page is attached to the sources that support it. Archived copies are linked when we keep one.