The 400 new jobs are understood to break down as 300 in Ireland and 100 in the US, bringing total headcount to more than 570.

Dublin’s Manna Air Delivery, Bobby Healy’s drone delivery company, has officially confirmed a $50m Series B funding round and announced plans to create 400 new jobs across Ireland and the US.

The round, which brings total investment in the company to $110m, sees funding from ARK Invest -the fund known for backing OpenAI, Anthropic, Tesla and SpaceX – Boston-based Schooner Capital and the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund (ISIF), alongside existing investors Enterprise Ireland, Coca-Cola HBC and Molten Ventures.

Today’s (1 April) announcement confirms details first reported last week by Sky News City editor Mark Kleinman, who said that Manna was close to finalising the round, with ISIF, ARK Invest and Schooner Capital among the backers.

The 400 new roles will span robotics, software engineering, mechanical engineering, aviation operations, ground operations and regulatory functions, with a strong focus on STEM disciplines. The positions will be spread across Manna’s Irish operational hubs and its expanding US operations, bringing the company’s total headcount from 170 to more than 570.

The Irish roles are understood to number some 300, with 100 in the US. In Ireland, roles are expected to be split between those working on manufacturing and developing drones, and aviation personnel at operational bases.

“Ireland is the foundation of everything we do. We design and build our drones here, develop our software here, and have spent seven years refining our operations in communities across the country,” said Bobby Healy, CEO and founder of Manna. “These 400 new roles are high-quality STEM positions and we’re competing with some of the largest companies in the world and winning.”

Manna, which was founded in 2019, designs, builds and operates its drones and software in Ireland. The company says it has completed more than 250,000 regulated drone flights, including 60,000 in Blanchardstown.

It currently operates in Dublin (Blanchardstown), Balbriggan, Moneygall, Oranmore and Cork, as well as internationally in Texas and Finland. The company delivers food, clothing, books and over-the-counter pharmaceuticals, and recently simulated hospital sample transport with The Rotunda Hospital. Its principal competitors include Wing and Zipline.

Visiting Manna’s Dublin headquarters today, where the company designs, builds and flies its drones, Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Peter Burke, TD welcomed the announcement saying it represented “a powerful endorsement of Ireland’s standing as a global centre for innovation and advanced manufacturing”.

“The creation of so many highly-skilled positions across robotics, software engineering, aviation and regulatory disciplines underscores the depth and quality of Ireland’s STEM talent base.”

Rebekah Brady, interim director at ISIF, said the fund is “committed to supporting Manna as part of our mandate to invest commercially in ways that deliver long-term economic impact for Ireland”.

Kevin Sherry, executive director at Enterprise Ireland, described Manna as “a standout example of an Irish company with clear global growth opportunities driven from an Irish headquarters”.

One investor source cited in Kleinman’s original Sky News report suggested that the successful conclusion of this round could herald a further, larger capital injection, so Manna certainly continues to be one to watch.

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