Dublin-based Manna drone delivery service raises $25 million in Series A round

Dublin’s drone delivery service Manna has raised $25 million in a Series A round and is pushing ahead with trials of its service in Galway, Ireland.

The round was led by Draper Esprit, and saw participation from Lukasz Gadowski’s Team Europe, and DST Global, with existing investors Dynamo Ventures, Atlantic Bridge, and Elkstone all following on.

“We are committed to supporting companies that have the potential to change how we live and Manna is a true example of this. Drones will play a key role in building a long-term and sustainable delivery infrastructure for communities around the world and Manna is already making that a reality,” comments Draper Esprit’s Nicola McClafferty.

Manna designs, builds, and operates unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs, read: drones) that are specialised in rapid delivery of takeaway food, groceries, and pharmacy supplies up to 3kg in weight.

With the autonomous delivery mechanism, the company reports that a single employee can oversee and manage multiple drones, delivering 20 orders per hour, a figure that is 10x the industry standard when compared to road-based deliveries. Ultimately quieter, greener, faster, and to be quite frank, keeping the roads clear of delivery drivers for cyclists like your humble author.

Manna currently has inked partnerships with JustEat, Samsung, Ben & Jerry’s (this is dangerous) and Tesco, one of Europe’s largest grocers. The firm is quoting the ability to deliver to a catchment area within 50 square kilometers within 3 minutes.

"With real customers and real deliveries already in place today, Manna provided the proof of concept for drone delivery for takeout food. and I’m super-excited to see them expand and scale. The future is the future,” comments Delivery Hero co-founder and Team Europe co-founder Lukasz Gadowski.

It should be interesting to see how Manna stacks up against Israel's Flytrex, which has a five-year jump on Manna, but, to date, has raised $5 million less.