Drone delivery has become the norm in Dublin

Drone delivery might still feel futuristic in many parts of the world, but in one Irish town, it’s already part of everyday life. Manna Aero, a Dublin-based startup, is now completing up to 80 autonomous deliveries per drone a day and it’s not just grocery runs or takeout orders. In one case, a customer even had a hot coffee dropped off by drone.

The milestone, revealed in a recent Guardian profile, reflects years of quiet iteration and careful scaling from a company that’s taken a pragmatic approach to an ambitious idea: make drone delivery as common and convenient as food delivery apps.

Coffee, convenience, and consistent flights

Taking place in Dublin’s neighborhoods, orders range from groceries to hot food and, in one charming example, a simple coffee order. Yes, The Guardian used a drone to get their caffeine fix—a detail that’s easy to laugh at, until you realize it perfectly captures the kind of real-world utility Manna is aiming for.

The company’s drones fly autonomously at speeds of up to 50 mph with cargo capacity of up to 8.8 lbs and can deliver to homes in under three minutes. Crucially, these flights are not just tests or demos, they’re happening in public airspace under regulatory oversight, with paying customers at the other end.

The company has raised over $40 million in funding, on top of making each flight profitable already, and began its U.S. expansion in 2023: a partnership in the Dallas-Fort Worth metro area. If successful, it could open the door for more suburban drone delivery zones across the U.S., and Manna’s proven model offers a clear roadmap.

This is in stark comparison to Amazon, who has still yet to crack the code on making drone deliveries a regular thing here in the US. With all its money, influence, and R&D capabilities, Amazon is still in the early stages of their rollout. Now you could place the blame on Amazon or US regulators; either way you shake it, Manna seems to be succeeding where Amazon is not.

The average Manna delivery can be completed in just three minutes once the goods are loaded into the drone, far better than the 15 to 20 minutes normal delivery drivers could take in cars or on bikes. “If you can move everything in three minutes, then you have an Amazon slayer,” Bobby Healy, the founder of Manna Aero, told The Guardian.