Autonomous drone delivery startup Manna plots major US expansion

Manna Aero, the autonomous drone delivery startup based in Ireland, is planning a significant expansion into the United States. Founder and CEO Bobby Healy recently shared insights with TechCrunch about the company's strategy to elevate its presence in the American market. Fuelled by a recent $50 million injection in venture capital, Manna Aero is establishing a U.S. operations and manufacturing hub in Tulsa, Oklahoma. This facility is expected to create approximately 1,000 jobs over the coming years, with construction already underway. Healy anticipates that manufacturing will commence within a year. As the factory is built, Manna is also aiming to grow its operations team to between 200 and 300 employees in the next year. Healy noted that the hiring pace will be influenced by the company's expansion efforts in other U.S. cities, as they evaluate six potential locations for further growth. If everything proceeds as planned, Manna could begin operations in those cities by late 2027. The ultimate ambition for Manna Aero is to become a leading player in the drone delivery sector, competing against established firms such as Zipline, Amazon, and Google's Wing. Healy highlighted the U.S. market's size and consumer behavior as key motivators for this expansion, observing that food delivery aggregators like DoorDash and Uber Eats have significantly shaped the industry landscape. Manna operates a fleet of automated drones that deliver packages without landing, utilizing a tethering method similar to that of Wing and Zipline. The company’s delivery-as-a-service model charges clients per flight, and it leverages partnerships with platforms like DoorDash and Deliveroo in Europe, along with direct collaborations with businesses and its own consumer app. Despite still being headquartered in Ireland, where its research and development, administrative, and manufacturing operations are located, Manna has recently ceased drone delivery services in its home country due to regulatory hurdles. Instead, the company is focusing its resources on the U.S. market. To spearhead this expansion, Manna has appointed former Ryanair CMO Kenny Jacobs as its executive chair and president. Healy pointed out that favorable policies from the Trump administration and the FAA have significantly accelerated growth prospects within the drone delivery industry. He believes that these regulatory advancements have catalyzed raw investment and have positioned Manna to make its move into the U.S. market at an opportune time. Although Manna is relatively new to the U.S. scene, it has already begun operations in the AllianceTexas Mobility Innovation Zone near Dallas, Texas, and aims to scale its presence in the greater Dallas-Fort Worth area over the next year.