RattanIndia Enterprises Ltd. (REL) has decided to make a strategic investment in Matternet, the US-based urban drone logistics platform.
With this investment, REL has forayed into the deep-tech Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) industry, which is set to transform logistics ecosystems worldwide, the statement said.
Matternet was founded in 2011 by Andreas Raptopoulos, a global thought leader in the UAV industry and a member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Drones and Aerial Mobility Council. Matternet provides best-inclass technology for on-demand, autonomous aerial delivery in urban environments and has garnered more revenue to date than any other UAV company from its operations in the US and Switzerland. The company is backed by Boeing, Mercedes-Benz, McKesson Ventures and Sony.
Matternet currently provides its platform-as-a-service to companies in the fields of healthcare and logistics. Together with its partners Swiss Post, UPS and Japan Airlines (JAL), the company serves numerous hospitals and pharmacy chains such as CVS, WakeMed Hospital, Wake Forest Baptist Health, EOC Lugano and University of Zurich Hospital, the company said.
Matternet’s technology not only has been approved by government aviation regulators (equivalent to DGCA in India) but also has been deployed commercially for urban deliveries in developed countries such as the US and Switzerland. Matternet drones have flown more than 13,000 commercial revenue trips in the US and Switzerland, it added.
Anjali Rattan, Business Chairperson, RattanIndia Enterprises, said, “We are highly impressed with the team and credentials of Matternet. The partnership with Matternet is in line with our philosophy of investing in new age cleantech companies with tremendous growth potential. We share Government’s vision of Drone as a futuretech, which opens new vistas of business opportunities”.
Andreas Raptopoulos, CEO, Matternet, said, “We are witnessing an inflection point in urban drone delivery and are excited to partner with RattanIndia to explore opportunities in India. India is a country with numerous densely populated and congested cities, an ideal scenario for Matternet drones to bring greater reach, reliability and speed to healthcare and other everyday needs of the local population, while at the same time decreasing pollution and traffic.”
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