An Irish tech boss claimed that his Dublin-based startup “beats Amazon and Google” in a drone delivery game.
Retail giant Amazon recently announced that it will launch its first drone delivery service in Lockeford, California, months after an Irish startup did the same in Balbriggan.
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Bobby Healy, CEO of MANNA Drone Delivery, found that their success lies in three main things: perfect location, overwhelming support, and a “strong and hungry team.”
Regarding the Irish sun, he said: “First of all, Ireland is the most perfect place in the world for research and development of drone delivery.
“If you can fly in Irish weather, you can fly anywhere in the world, which is great for our testing and research.
“Also, the IAA has aviation regulatory agencies, and national and local governments are very supportive and very professional businesses.”
Bord Na Mona has shown support for startups and offers an offaly obsolete bogland for use in testing.
Mana has already recorded about 100,000 test flights in Bogrand, providing “very valuable data.”
Mostly read in the Irish sun
Bobby further states:
“And after all, we’re still blessed by aviation regulators, so it’s really a perfect storm of support from the country in which you’re active.”
Former Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos has made clear his intention to enter the drone delivery space in 2013.
But after nearly a decade and about $ 2 billion in investment, tech giants are still struggling to get the service off the ground.
Founded five years later in 2018, Manna piloted the service at Oranmore Co. in Galway, offering a wide range of products from coffee to medicine with its own drone.
Their drones can reach speeds of 60mph, can cruise at 260ft and boast a delivery time of less than 3 minutes.
They also partner with industry giants such as Tesco, Samsung and Coca-Cola, as well as countless local businesses.
The tech startup is currently conducting thousands of autonomous deliveries and test flights, and is launching a full-scale delivery service in Balbriggan, a suburb of Dublin with a population of approximately 35,000.
The 110 strong teams at Balbriggan headquarters continue to grow, with plans to create another 50 jobs in the region.
Loft ambition
Manna’s chief ensured that success in Ireland would lead to a global arena and was convinced that expanding would be “the largest company ever seen in Ireland”.
He states: “Our delivery service is the most environmentally friendly and safe way to deliver our products, and we already know that our customers like it.
“38% of the inhabitants of the towns we run use our services on a regular basis. Currently, no product is as popular as we are.”
Mana hasn’t made a profit yet, but Healy is fully convinced that all the twists in autonomous delivery have been removed and that drone monitoring doesn’t have to be so strict. It will cost you the following: anything. “
“The fact that this product is so popular is that we know that the more drones we develop, the more money we can make because of the demand,” he added. ..
The Rathfarnham man plans to roll out services to the American and European markets as early as this year to 2023, keeping a close eye on the airspace of Amazon and Google.
He states: “It’s not lost to people that we’re a small Irish company and beat Amazon and Google in this game. It’s certainly a bit of a green jersey moment.
“But we welcome the competition. Drone delivery will be a huge industry, and there is plenty of room for it.”
Bobby has acknowledged that the Alphabet drone delivery program Wing, the owner of Google, is the gold standard.
“They are the ones we admire, but as we are more advanced, it won’t be long before we are bigger than them,” he said.
That’s not the only serial entrepreneurial ambition. Because he plans to become the main delivery force around the world.
He states: “Our mission is to make ultra-fast suburban drone delivery ubiquitous.
“That is, we want to enter all modern markets that require delivery. We will replace 100% of road-based deliveries around the world.
“Soon, like local bookstores, the little guys and local vendors we focus on will have more efficient delivery services than Amazon.
“We change the way people consume products and the way vendors sell products.
“It’s literally a big ambition.”
Systematic process
Growth potential is endless, but regulations are a major obstacle to drone delivery space, especially in the United States.
Their FAA regulations are still one step behind European regulations, making it difficult to penetrate the market.
Bobby adds that while the drone delivery possibilities are endless, he doesn’t rush to spread himself too thin and is committed to ensuring the quality and safety of his products before further expansion. I did.
He states:
“We are trying to build the safest aircraft in the world, because when expanded, we fly more than a million times a day.
“And to do it safely, you can’t just start flying and expect the best, it will end in tears.
“For now, we’re still focused on Ireland, focusing on making our products scalable and safe, learning what people want before actually scaling up. I am.
“So we are working in a very systematic, process-driven way.”