Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is investigating a Florida-based drone distributor over concerns that its alleged ties to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could pose threats to consumer privacy and national security.

Paxton’s office announced the investigation targeting Drone Nerds on May 5, pointing to its relationship with Texas-based drone manufacturer Anzu Robotics, which it alleges has been “misrepresenting its security and privacy measures and concealing its ties to the CCP.”

“These products raise serious concerns, including unauthorized data collection, surveillance capabilities, and potential access by the Chinese government,” Paxton’s office said.

In February, Paxton filed a lawsuit against Anzu Robotics through a court petition, seeking civil penalties, consumer restitution, and injunctions to stop alleged deceptive practices and require disclosure of its ties to Chinese drone maker DJI.

In the lawsuit, the state of Texas alleges that Anzu Robotics’ Raptor T drones are “essentially DJI Mavic 3s painted green” that take “detailed photos and videos of Texas homes and infrastructure.”

In Paxton’s statement accompanying the lawsuit, he said Anzu Robotics drones are “nothing more than a 21st century trojan horse linked to the CCP.”

In 2022, the Pentagon added DJI to its blacklist of “Chinese military companies” operating in the United States. The U.S. Federal Communications Commission has barred new DJI drone models and key components from approval in the United States over national security concerns.

XTI Aerospace, a Colorado-based integrated aerospace and unmanned systems company, completed its acquisitions of Drone Nerds and Anzu Robotics in November 2025. According to an April filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, XTI said it was “engaged in discussions with the Texas Attorney General to attempt to resolve the matter cooperatively,” referring to the lawsuit.

Paxton’s office pointed to Drone Nerds’ webpage selling Anzu Robotics’ T drone, saying it “falsely represents to consumers,” with marketing language stating the drone is “headquartered and operated within the United States, giving you the peace of mind that your solution is delivered by your neighbors.”

“Further evidence has suggested that Anzu may be attempting to avoid restrictions by partnering with Drone Nerds as a distributor of its products,” the attorney general’s office wrote. “The two entities are likely operating together to evade Texas law to continue to sell drones and other products that enable the CCP to spy on Texans.”

As part of the investigation, Paxton has issued a civil investigative demand to Drone Nerds seeking details about its role in “misleading Texas consumers in violation of the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act.”

“Under my watch, the Chinese Communist Party will have no influence in Texas,” Paxton said in a statement. “I will thoroughly investigate any potential threat to the privacy and security of Texans and hold any company that enables CCP surveillance accountable.”

The Epoch Times contacted Drone Nerds for comment but didn’t receive a response by publication time.

Starting in February, Paxton filed a total of five lawsuits against companies he said are affiliated with the CCP and pose risks to Texans.

Aside from Anzu Robotics, the other four companies named in his legal actions are network equipment maker TP-Link Systems, surveillance camera company Lorex, and Chinese online retailers Temu and Shein.

In Texas, Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) app DeepSeek and social media platform RedNote, also known as Xiaohongshu and often described as China’s equivalent of Instagram, have been banned from government devices following an order issued by Gov. Greg Abbott in January 2025.

In February 2025, Paxton launched a probe into DeepSeek, alleging that the Chinese AI platform “appears to be no more than a proxy for the CCP to undermine American AI dominance and steal the data of our citizens.”