With its proprietary blended wing body tailsitter design, called TRT, Airbound aims to transform logistics, reducing delivery costs by two orders of magnitude compared to traditional options.

Historically, the drone delivery industry has faced challenges due to regulatory complexity and high per-mile costs, which have prevented drones from becoming the default solution for last-mile logistics.

Airbound’s TRT design will be the lightest, safest, and most economically viable delivery drone, reducing the cost of deliveries to just a few cents. 

“We are proud to have developed not only an industry-leading delivery drone, but also a highly efficient, scalable manufacturing process,” said Naman Pushp, founder and CEO of Airbound. 

“We scrutinized every vehicle system to reduce weight, enhance safety and reliability, and maximize efficiency. We developed new methods to manufacture carbon fiber, which allow us to reduce the weight of our Airframe from 6 pounds to 400 grams. Our goal isn’t just to build a great drone—we want to create a world where delivery is essentially free” 

The journey began as a high school project for Naman Pushp, who turned down an offer to study at Carnegie Mellon University to pursue his passion for drones. 

With early backing from gradCapital, he spent four years developing TRT, innovating on carbon composite manufacturing, aerostructures, and advanced control systems.

Today, Airbound’s drone is over three times lighter than conventional alternatives, with four times the aerodynamic efficiency, significantly reducing upfront and operating costs.

Airbound’s efficiency-first strategy sets it apart from competitors more focused on speed, adapting existing drones for limited market segments. 

Airbound’s initial focus is on medical deliveries, particularly routine supply deliveries such as transporting blood samples from health centers to testing labs.

Once the system is proven at scale, Airbound plans to expand into other applications including food and grocery delivery, where reducing logistics costs can significantly enhance profitability. In total, the company’s drones have already spanned thousands of kilometers.

Hemant Mohapatra, partner, Lightspeed commented: “Drones are the future of deliveries and we are highly optimistic about the potential of this game-changing technology in revolutionizing logistics. Our investment in Airbound aligns with our mission of backing founders who can identify market gaps and pioneer path-breaking products to address those. We are incredibly excited to partner with Naman, confident that their innovation will redefine delivery logistics.”  

The timing is ideal for Airbound’s technology. Many of the major regulatory and technological bottlenecks have been addressed, and public enthusiasm around the technology is rising.

The only remaining challenge has been making the technology cost effective—a problem Airbound has solved. 

Pilot program and testing were launched a few months ago in Ghana.

The collaboration will integrate Zipline’s automated, on-demand delivery system with Jumia’s existing distribution network to enable customers to receive instant, on-demand delivery of exactly the products they want, exactly when they want them and from the comfort of their homes.

“Using the latest instant logistics technology will allow Jumia to offer our consumers on-demand delivery of the products they need – instantly. Whether they’re ordering electronics, fashion, health, and beauty, or other categories, Zipline’s instant logistics system will provide fast and convenient access. This will support Jumia’s commitment to sustainability and innovation and provide much-needed access to rural and remote areas where conventional delivery services have challenges”, said Apoorva Kumar, EVP JJumia Group COO.

An initial pilot was carried out across multiple use cases with varying product assortment logging up to 2,500km in testing.

Deliveries to outlying Jumia hubs as far as 85km from the take-off location at the Zipline operational hub in Omenako (Ghana) were completed in less than 1h with real time visibility of the drone for all stakeholders in the delivery cycle.

Eventual plans call for expansion to Cote d’Ivoire and Nigeria, and ultimately to other countries in the future.

“Zipline is pleased to partner with Jumia to use instant logistics to improve the lives of customers across Africa. This collaboration will increase access to goods for customers and help small and medium sized businesses grow. Zipline’s safe and efficient instant logistics system will make shopping on Jumia even more convenient, sustainable and accessible for its customers”, said Daniel Marfo, SVP – Zipline Africa.

Jumia’s logistics network includes 30+ warehouses and 3,000+ drop-off stations and pick-up stations, located across Jumia’s 11-country market.

In 2020, Jumia announced that its logistics service would now be available to third parties seeking to leverage the network, technology, and expertise for last-mile deliveries across its 11 countries in Africa.

Zipline’s instant logistics system, on the other hand, is made up of a world class autonomy platform, fleet of light, electric aircraft, and flight management systems that reduce green-house gas emissions by 98% compared to delivery by car.

This system is designed to enable all consumers, from the most urban to the most remote, to access the products they need in 45-minutes or less while reducing the carbon emissions of last-mile delivery up to 98% compared to traditional cars.

Jumia’s partnership with Zipline is part of its commitment to providing affordable and eco-friendly delivery of online orders for consumers. In addition to its partnership with Zipline, Jumia works with Solar Taxi in Ghana and eBee in Kenya to achieve a fully green footprint using clean and sustainable renewable energy.