Technology

Nekter, Mad Greens, Tokyo Joe's testing drone delivery

Provided

April 5, 2023

California-based Nekter Juice Bar, Colorado-based Mad Greens and Tokyo Joe's and Popadelics, based in NYC, are testing drone delivery via FlyBy Robotics, an end-to-end drone automation and delivery company that recently raised $4 million in seed investment funding.

The brands' customers may order drone delivery for just $3 and will experience delivery times averaging under four minutes, Flyby Robotics Co-Founder Jason Lu said in a company press release.

"You don't have to be a multi billion-dollar corporation or a global military superpower to reap the economic benefits of autonomous drones," he said. "Our AI-powered autonomous systems allow any merchant to dramatically reduce the cost of delivery to their customers."

Nekter Juice Bar CEO Steve Schulze said he is testing the delivery model as a way to keep Nekter at the forefront of technology to improve the guest experience.

"We are now continuing that tradition of innovation working with future-looking companies like Flyby," Schulze said in the release, pointing out that Nekter's app has 1.3 million loyalty members and offers a user-friendly online ordering experience.

Marilyn Yang, co-founder and CEO of Fun-Gal Snacks, the parent company of Popadelics, agreed, calling her decision to partner with Flyby a "no-brainer."

"Popadelics Crunchy Mushroom Chips aren't just a snack — they're an experience, which drone delivery further amplifies," she said in the release. "We see many future possibilities for drone delivery for the Popadelics brand in partnership with Flyby."

The $4 million raised by Mac Venture Capital, with participation from Weekend Fund, Anthemis and Evening Fund, will help FlyBuy's flight system achieve Level 4 autonomy. It now performs at Level 3, but when it hits 4, drones operate without human intervention. A pilot, however, in a remote command center may manually override if necessary.

Other investors included Naval Ravikant, the co-founder of AngelList, Balaji Srinivasan, the former CTO of Coinbase, Karen Pritzke, Gaingels, Ryan Hoover, the founder of Product Hunt and Cliff Sirlin, the managing director at LaunchCapital.

"We saw in the Flyby team the tenacity and technical rigor to execute on a game-changing idea," Adrian Fenty, founding managing Partner at MaC Venture Capital, said in the release. "We're excited to watch drone delivery transform retail over the next five years."

Flyby's package deployment system gently lets products down from a hovering drone to customers' doorsteps allowing for the delivery of fragile products like smoothies without spilling a drop, Lu said in the release.

"The City of Las Vegas' Innovation District is excited about drone delivery and its potential to reduce traffic, heighten technological development in the region, and provide more sustainable delivery infrastructure," Michael Sherwood, chief innovation officer at the City of Las Vegas and its Innovation District, a future launch partner, said in the release. "In addition to providing economic and employment opportunities."