XCraft Update | Shark Tank Season 7

On Shark Tank, all five sharks rarely go in together on a deal. That’s exactly what happened when XCraft’s JD Claridge and Charles Manning brought their product to Shark Tank Season 7. Their impressive drone-slash-aircraft is the next step in unmanned aerial vehicles, and the sharks go wild. We’ll talk about how it all went down in our XCraft update and recap.

Shark Tank XCraft Update

XCraft Update

  • Entrepreneurs: JD Claridge and Charles Manning
  • Business: An unmanned personal aircraft that is part airplane and part drone
  • Ask: $500,000 for 20% equity
  • Result: $1.5 million for 25% equity
  • Shark: Mark Cuban, Daymond John, Kevin O’Leary, Lori Greiner, and Robert Herjavec

As they entered the tank, JD and Charles explained that their XCraft drone effortlessly switched from drone mode to airplane mode, offering a world of new functionality. They could fly at up to 60 miles per hour, and up to heights of 10,000 feet – which made them ideal for tracking fast-moving objects.

Each vehicle sold for $1,899 retail, but only cost around $400 to manufacture. They need $250,000 for inventory, but the extra $250,000 would be to produce their Phone Drone, a product that allowed you to turn your smartphone into a drone. 

Thus started the bidding war. Kevin O’Leary made the first offer of $750,000 for 25% equity. Daymond John offered $1 million for 25%, so Kevin matched it. Lori Greiner offered $1 million for 20%, and Kevin matched her offer once again. Kevin was very interested in this company. 

JD and Charles sensed blood in the water and quickly asked if all five sharks would go in on a deal at a $10 million valuation. This much higher valuation nearly made the sharks back out. After a quick talk in the hall, they returned with a better deal: a $6 million valuation. They asked if the sharks would invest $1.5 million collectively for 5% equity each, or 25% split five ways. 

Mark Cuban is the only shark who is a bit uncomfortable. He asks who else has offered them money, and Charles states that they’ve had offers from companies who want to shape their product, and venture capitalists don’t want to do any work.

Since Mark appreciates this offer, he accepts. All five sharks come together for a huge deal! Did it all work out in the end? Keep reading our XCraft update to find out!

After this explosive episode, you’d hope that XCraft was doing well! Unfortunately, it looks like the deal with all five sharks never closed. However, our XCraft update research found that airing the episode caused their website to crash. They started a Kickstarter right after the show aired, and raised about $170,000. In 2018, they raised over $1 million on a StartEngine funding campaign. 

Since then, they’ve gone for more funding rounds. XCraft’s Start Engine page says that they have crowdfunded at least $4,445,000 in total. 

The company is still alive and kicking despite the failed deal. New models have expanded the appeal of the company, and they are apparently in talks with the Department of Defense. Before these negotiations, they have annual sales of about $5 million. You can check up on XCraft on their website.

Want to know what happened to the other companies featured in Season 7 Episode 5? You’ll find our company updates here:

For more on companies and products featured on the show, make sure to stop by our Season 7 products page.

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Andrew Smith is the founder and owner of Shark Tank Recap. He is a longtime Shark Tank fan that has been watching it for years and has seen every episode multiple times. His friends know him as the Shark Tank expert, because he can answer any question about the show! His favorite Shark Tank products are Bertello's pizza oven and Bug Bite Thing!