GoPro Budding Rival Lily Folds Despite $34 Million Worth Of Preorders

Lily has regrettably announced its decision to terminate its business amid funding issues. This is sad news to the 60,000 customers who were hoping to receive their camera drones from the company that could have been a competitor to GoPro and other action camera makers.

According to VentureBeat, Lily is shutting down after it failed to secure enough funds for the manufacture and shipping of its drone cameras. After careful thought, the company decided to send out emails to its clients on Wednesday, informing them that it is folding its business.

Lily received numerous preorders amounting to $34 million after leaving a great impression to consumers during its beta program. Unfortunately, the company ran out of money following its beta program. It managed to raise $15 million in venture capital, but lost it after delaying the launch of its drone camera for a couple of times.

In its email to clients, the team behind Lily said, “We have been racing against a clock of ever-diminishing funds. Over the past few months, we have tried to secure financing in order to unlock our manufacturing line and ship our first units — but have been unable to do this,” as quoted by TechCrunch.

Lily will henceforth work on providing refunds to customers. The company noted that those who preordered its drone camera will receive refunds over the next 60 days. For clients with expired cards, Lily is requesting them to fill out this form.

The drone that Lily was preparing caught a lot of attention due to its smart sensing technology. It has the ability to automatically follow users and capture photos as well as record videos along the way. The waterproof device had a preorder price of $499, according to The Verge.

The flying camera startup was founded in 2013 out of the University of California, Berkley campus. The company became public in May 2015 after releasing its promotional material for its first flying camera robot.