Manna

Market position

Manna describes itself as the clear European leader in autonomous aerial delivery with the stated ambition of becoming the global leader. Founder Bobby Healy identified Alphabet (Google) and Amazon as the company's biggest competitors in drone delivery in 2021, describing the opportunity as larger than a trillion dollars. Manna has participated in FAA-related demonstrations of operations in overlapping airspace alongside Wing, ANRA Technologies and Arlington Police Department.

Manna emphasises vertical integration — airframe design, manufacturing and flight orchestration software all built in Dublin — combined with regulatory depth (FAA authorisation, EASA certification, Irish Aviation Authority approval and a Light UAS Operator Certificate) and integration into mainstream consumer delivery apps rather than a standalone ordering channel. It claims to be the only air delivery company globally with positive unit economics in residential last-mile delivery, and points to sustained repeat usage in served neighbourhoods rather than demonstration flights.

Technology

Manna builds aviation-grade electric delivery drones and the software that operates them. Aircraft are fully electric and marketed as zero-emission in operation, fly at more than 49.7 mph (80km/h per 2021 reporting) within an approximately three-kilometre radius, carry up to 8.8 lbs, and deliver in typically under three minutes of flight time. Above the aircraft sits a flight orchestration layer coordinating airspace, logistics, retail platform integrations and local ground operations across three countries. Aircraft carry a low-resolution camera used only to verify the drop zone is clear at delivery, with no in-flight recording, storage or facial recognition. Airframe design, manufacturing and flight orchestration software are all developed in Dublin.

Go-to-market

Manna reaches consumers primarily through partnerships with established food and grocery delivery platforms — Deliveroo, Just Eat Takeaway.com, DoorDash, Wolt and Uber — where customers select an air delivery option within an app they already use. It also signs merchant and brand partnerships directly (for example Tesco, Samsung, Boojum, Gym+Coffee and Gleeson Butchers) and runs community-facing outreach explaining safety, noise and privacy in the towns where it launches.

Suburban and residential consumers ordering food, drinks, groceries, pharmacy items and small retail goods, with emphasis on households without easy car access, parents with young children, elderly residents and the population living more than a mile from a food store; on the supply side, local merchants and national retail and delivery-platform partners.

Geography

Headquartered and engineering-based in Dublin, Ireland, with live operations in Ireland (including Moneygall, Oranmore, Balbriggan, Dublin West and Blanchardstown), Texas in the United States, and Finland (Helsinki-area testing with Wolt). The company has announced a US expansion with service in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and plans to reach 40 operational bases across the United States and Europe.

History

Manna was founded by Bobby Healy; the company's 2026 Series B post states it was started in 2019, while a 2021 Irish Times report gives a 2018 founding date. Service rolled out sequentially through Irish towns and suburbs — Moneygall, Oranmore, Balbriggan and Dublin West — including antigen test deliveries during COVID and a National Ambulance Service trial in which a defibrillator reached a cardiac arrest scene in 3 minutes 42 seconds. By October 2020 the company was running roughly 100 deliveries a day in Oranmore, Co Galway. It raised a $25 million Series A in April 2021, took investment from Coca-Cola HBC in October 2023, launched operations in North Texas in 2023 and in Finland, added partnerships with Boojum (2024), Just Eat Takeaway.com and Deliveroo (2025), and announced a $50 million Series B in April 2026 alongside expansion to Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Risks & controversies

Manna's expansion is dependent on aviation regulation: the company has said it timed its scaling to EU rules expected to be passed into law from 2023, and its operations require FAA authorisation, EASA compliance, Irish Aviation Authority approval and an LUC. Operational constraints include an 8.8 lb payload limit and weather limits (light rain and wind only). Community-level concerns about noise, privacy and surveillance are addressed directly in the company's public community guide. It competes for talent and market share with far larger firms including Alphabet and Amazon.