Swiss drone logistics company Matternet continues to make positive strides on the North American drone market, with the latest revelation that the company will be working with robotics solutions provider SoftBank Robotics America to accelerate deployment of last mile delivery in the US and other key markets.
The two companies are hoping to solve the long-term faced structural challenges faced by last mile delivery — labour shortages, rising costs, urban congestion, and growing expectations for speed.
Before drones, these pressures were forcing operators to think outside the box to deliver greater value at lower costs, while maintaining consistent and reliable performance.
But the advent of drone technology – and with it automated aerial delivery – the reality of package delivery at a more cost-effective scale than traditional last mile methods is now within reach.
"As we enter the age of Physical AI, Matternet's vision of building autonomous networks that move atoms is becoming a reality," said Andreas Raptopoulos, Founder and CEO of Matternet.
"Our partnership with SoftBank Robotics America will accelerate deployment of our technology and help build the autonomous delivery infrastructure for healthcare, commerce, and industry. Matternet's mission has been to build the future of logistics through autonomous aerial networks."
In a statement, SoftBank Robotics America said this collaboration would strengthen its broader strategy as a Physical AI Integrator bringing together proven technology, processes, people and programs that deliver outcomes at scale.
With Matternet's autonomous drone delivery platform, the companies swear they are positioned to help build intelligent logistics infrastructure that could reduce delivery times, improve reliability, and lower costs for enterprise operators.
"Autonomous logistics networks are reaching an inflection point," said Brady Watkins, President & GM, SoftBank Robotics America.
"The challenge is not the technology, but rather operationalizing the technology such that it produces consistent measurable outcomes. As an integrator, our role has always been to successfully integrate and support platforms like Matternet into real-world delivery environments that drive predictable performance at scale."
The partnership reportedly brings together SoftBank Robotics America's proven ability to integrate and accelerate the commercialization of autonomous solutions at scale with Matternet's leading drone delivery platform. The partnership will help customers integrate advanced aerial logistics into day-to-day operations, enabling faster, more reliable and cost-efficient delivery networks.
"At SoftBank Robotics America, we focus on turning breakthrough technologies into large-scale, real-world deployments," said Katya Akudovich, Vice President of New Ventures at SoftBank Robotics America.
"By combining Matternet's technology with our global commercialization capability and experience, we are creating a powerful partnership to bring the benefits of autonomous drone delivery into day-to-day operations for vertical markets such as healthcare where speed and reliability are mission critical."