Hylio’s Texas Drone Factory Signals a 500% Surge in Agricultural Automation

From College Project to Crop Revolution

In 2015, a group of University of Texas aerospace engineering students tinkered with drone prototypes in a cramped Austin lab. Nine years later, their startup, Hylio, is betting big on the future of farming—with a $1.3 million, 40,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Richmond, Texas, set to supercharge production. The move will catapult output from 500–1,000 drones annually to a staggering 5,000 by 2028, a 500% capacity increase. For CEO Arthur Erickson, it’s a logistical necessity: “Farmers are desperate for alternatives to manual labor. Our drones aren’t just tools; they’re entire workforces.”

“Our drones aren’t just tools; they’re entire workforces.” —Arthur Erickson, Hylio CEO

Bootstrapped Growth and Strategic Swarms

Hylio’s rise mirrors the DIY ethos of its founders. Privately funded with majority ownership held by Erickson and three co-founders, the company sidestepped venture capital, relying instead on angel investors and a StartEngine crowdfunding campaign. That scrappy approach extends to its new facility: labor costs are kept low by repurposing existing staff for construction. Employee numbers will jump from 65 to 100 by 2025 and could hit 300 by 2029. The real edge, though, lies in Hylio’s tech. Its NDAA-compliant drones—free of components from China, Russia, or Iran—outmaneuver competitors like DJI with swarm operations, enabling fleets to blanket fields in fertilizer or pesticides simultaneously.

AI, Weeds, and Global Fields

While 90% of Hylio’s business serves U.S. farmers, expansions into Canada, Europe, and Australia hint at a broader vision. The company is quietly developing AI for real-time field mapping and machine learning tools that pair computer vision with weed detection. “Imagine drones that not only spray but diagnose,” says Erickson. For an industry grappling with labor shortages and climate pressures, that’s not just innovation—it’s survival.