ModalAI

Drone Intelligence Assessment

ModalAI is a component supplier that has turned into a drone vendor. It was formed in 2018 by former Qualcomm R&D leaders and built its name on compute and autopilot boards for the Blue UAS Framework, including two collaborations with the Defense Innovation Unit. Its VOXL 2 board weighs 16 grams, runs on a Qualcomm QRB5165 with a 15 TOPS neural processor, and is listed as NDAA Section 848 compliant and assembled in the USA.

The Drone Dominance Program moved it into airframes at volume. In Gauntlet I in March 2026 it finished fourth with 77.7 points and, per Inside Unmanned Systems, 2,240 drones ordered. In Gauntlet II in September it placed fifth in Close Quarters Battle.

DI analysis: ModalAI is one of few vendors that sell both the compute other drone makers build on and their own finished drones into the same programme. That gives it two ways to win the cheap-drone volume buy, and two exposures if Phase 3 price cuts squeeze margins. The sources reviewed give no funding, revenue or delivery figures, so its production record against the Gauntlet I order cannot be assessed here.