SES AI Corp, a leading drone maker company, saw its stock price soar a massive 67.61% in pre-market trading on Friday. This surge comes as the overall drone maker industry rallied, with companies like Palladyne AI and Ondas Holdings also experiencing significant gains.

One key factor driving this rally appears to be the successful milestone achieved by Palladyne AI. The company announced that its Palladyne Pilot AI software platform has successfully completed the first flight of a third-party small drone, demonstrating its ability to identify and prioritize terrestrial targets of interest and interface with the drone's autopilot software to autonomously follow the prioritized target.

This development highlights the growing capabilities of AI-powered drone technology and its potential applications across various industries. As Dr. Denis Garagic, co-founder and CTO of Palladyne AI, stated, "Once we complete commercialization of Palladyne Pilot — which we expect to happen by the end of the first quarter of 2025 — small, economical drones will finally offer some of the same intelligence capabilities that larger, multi-million-dollar unmanned systems have had for years."