Why America fell behind in drones, and how to catch up again

One wonders to what extent the management of these companies having a background in actual engineering, as opposed to financial engineering, gives them an edge over US companies:

- DJI: MPhil in Electronic and Computer Engineering

- BYD: Chemistry Graduate

- CATL: PhD in Physics

- Huawei: engineering

Maybe a generation of companies who followed the Jack Welch school of management rather than valuing people who used to make stuff, also contributes to the US falling behind across the board?

There are at least 60 drone manufacturers in the USA:

https://www.modalai.com/pages/us-drone-manufacturers-compreh...

And there are drones and propulsion technologies continuously being developed at DoD.

What are we "catching up" to?

“Alongside BYD, Huawei, and Autel, DJI was named a champion of the initiative. Through Made in China 2025, the PRC earmarked hundreds of billions in funding to build up advanced technology companies. Leveraging these subsidies, DJI and Autel, another Chinese drone manufacturer, were able to artificially cut prices to dump cheap systems on the American market. The United States, in observation of a free and competitive international marketplace, did not match these subsidies; American drone companies struggled to survive.

Notably, not all of DJI’s funding came from the Chinese government. Foolishly, in retrospect, the growth of the Chinese drone industry was, in part, fueled by American venture capital. In 2014 and 2015, Sequoia and Accel made major investments in DJI, collectively exceeding any funding for 3DR, Airware, or any other American drone manufacturers. With CCP subsidies and American capital, DJI would continue to dominate the global market. Naturally, a mass-extinction event for U.S. companies followed.“