The Karma is finally dead.
First announced in December of 2015, action cam company GoPro has pulled the plug on its heavily delayed, disastrous aerial photography drone, best known for its spectacular propensity for falling out of the sky. The news comes days after a report that said the company was laying off several hundred employees, most of whom were attached to its drone flight devision.
GoPro came to prominence through a smart but unsustainable salvo of first-person extreme sports videos. It bet big on the Karma – its foray into drones – to distinguish itself from less expensive competitors like Xiaomi which have been eating away at its market share for mini action cams… by pushing into the already crowded drone game dominated by heavyweights like DJI.
That plan, like so many Karma drones before it, crashed and burned.
GoPro has been financially unhealthy for some time, and according to TechCrunch, cutbacks now extend to CEO Nicholas Woodman, who has reduced his pay to $1.
(As of the time of this article’s publication, a Karma can still be purchased through GoPro’s website in Australia for $1,349.95)