Drone delivery startup Manna announced today that it has raised a $25 million Series A round of funding led by Draper Esprit, with participation from Team Europe, partners of DST Global, as well as returning investors Dynamo Ventures, Atlantic Bridge and Elkstone. This brings the total amount of funding raised by Manna to $30.2 million.
Based in Dublin, Ireland, Manna operates unmanned aerial vehicles for high-speed deliveries over the last mile. Drones fly out of a main hub carrying food orders and can reach a customer’s home in just three minutes. The customer uses something similar to a Google Map image of their home divided up into a grid and select where the drone should fly to. Once at that location, the drone hovers 50 feet above the ground and lowers the order down via tether.
Manna says that a single operator can conduct roughly 20 deliveries per hour. Manna is currently piloting drone delivery in Galway, Ireland, where it is doing up to 100 deliveries a day. In today’s press announcement, Manna said that more than 30 percent of Galway’s 10,000 residents are already using its service.
Drone delivery is quickly becoming a reality around the world as more pilot programs are launched and more companies get funded. Flytrex, which is testing drone deliveries with Walmart in North Carolina, raised $8 million last month. Dragontail Systems and Pizza Hut have partnered for drone delivery in Israel. And iFood and Speedbird Aero are deploying drone delivery in Brazil.
Here in the U.S., government agencies are clarifying rules around commercial drone operation. In December of last year, the FAA announced its final rules around the safety of drone flying. With more clarity will come more innovation and more drone delivery availability.
In addition to its pilot delivery program in Galway, Manna has also kept busy on the business development front. The company has signed partnerships with JustEat, Samsung, Ben & Jerrys and Tesco.
If you want to learn more about the future of drone delivery, be sure to attend ArticulATE, our food robotics and automation virtual conference on May 18. Manna CEO Bobby Healy will be speaking, along with a host of other executives across the robotics, restaurant and retail landscape. Get your ticket today!
Exciting to see Manna making such significant strides in the drone delivery space! This funding could really accelerate their impact in Ireland and beyond. I can’t wait to see how they tackle logistics challenges and enhance delivery efficiency.