# The Drone Racing League

> The Drone Racing League (DRL) is a New York sports, media, and technology company founded in 2015. It developed standardized FPV racing drones, produced televised competitions, and sold a racing simulator used for practice and historical pilot tryouts. Infinite Reality announced a $250 million acquisition in 2024; a planned 2025 Miami race was postponed indefinitely, and DRL equipment was listed for auction in August 2026.

- **Founded:** 2015
- **Headquarters:** New York, United States
- **Founders:** Nicholas Horbaczewski (Founder and former CEO)
- **Products:** DRL racing events and broadcasts, DRL Simulator, DRL racing hardware, AIRR Circuit / AlphaPilot, Women Taking Flight
- **Notable:** RacerX achieved a Guinness-certified 163.5 mph quadcopter speed record in 2017., Simulator tryout winner Jacob “Jawz” Schneider earned a $75,000 contract and raced in the 2017 championship season., AlphaPilot attracted 424 teams from 81 countries before selecting nine finalists in 2019.

## Products & services

- **DRL racing events and broadcasts** — Produced professional FPV races using standardized aircraft and three-dimensional courses, with licensed television and digital content; historical offering, with the planned 2025 Miami race postponed.
- **DRL Simulator** — FPV racing software for learning and competition, including virtual league courses and the Racer4; Steam release dated June 16, 2017, after a 2016 simulator initiative.
- **DRL racing hardware** — In-house racing aircraft and supporting race infrastructure; RacerX was a separate speed-record project, not the regular championship drone.
- **AIRR Circuit / AlphaPilot** — Historical autonomous racing competition with Lockheed Martin; nine selected teams competed using standardized drone hardware.
- **Women Taking Flight** — Announced initiative with the U.S. Air Force combining racing, esports, and STEM education to encourage women in technology and aviation.

## Achievements

- RacerX achieved a Guinness-certified 163.5 mph quadcopter speed record in 2017.
- Simulator tryout winner Jacob “Jawz” Schneider earned a $75,000 contract and raced in the 2017 championship season.
- AlphaPilot attracted 424 teams from 81 countries before selecting nine finalists in 2019.
- DRL announced 2022-23 distribution into more than 320 million households across nearly 170 markets.
- Infinite Reality announced a $250 million acquisition in April 2024.

## Latest updates

- **2024-03** — DRL and the U.S. Air Force announced Women Taking Flight.
- **2024-04** — Infinite Reality announced a definitive agreement to acquire DRL for $250 million.
- **2025-02** — The Miami Invitational scheduled for February 1 was postponed indefinitely; the official notice promised refunds. The notice itself does not give a publication date.
- **2026-08** — Heritage Global Partners listed a Napster Drone Racing League equipment auction for August 11-12, including more than 165 Racer4 drones and broadcast/course equipment; the listing does not establish a legal dissolution date.

## Links

- Website: https://www.drl.io/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-drone-racing-league/
- Twitter/X: https://x.com/DroneRaceLeague
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheDroneRacingLeague
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thedroneracingleague/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thedroneracingleague/
- TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@droneracingleague

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Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-03