17 April 2026 | News
Image Courtesy: Public Domain
Matternet and SoftBank Robotics America announced a strategic partnership to accelerate deployment of drone delivery solutions for healthcare, retail, and enterprise logistics customers.
Last-mile delivery continues to face structural pressures from labor shortages, rising costs, urban congestion, and relentless customer demand for faster, more reliable service. Autonomous drone delivery is emerging as a compelling new logistics layer that overcomes these challenges and helps operators improve service levels while lowering cost and reducing dependency on traditional ground-based delivery methods.
Under the partnership, Matternet and SoftBank Robotics America will work together to commercialize and deploy drone delivery solutions for enterprise customers, with an initial focus on healthcare and commercial delivery — verticals where speed, reliability, and operational efficiency are critical. SoftBank Robotics America will also partner with Matternet to manufacture, install, and maintain Matternet's ground systems, providing end-to-end operational support for enterprise deployments.
Matternet has been a pioneer in autonomous drone logistics, with major regulatory and operational milestones across the U.S. and Europe. The company is the first drone delivery company to achieve both FAA Type Certification and Production Certification, and its technology has enabled tens of thousands of commercial flights in urban and suburban environments in the U.S. and Europe.
"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 critical autonomous delivery infrastructure for healthcare, commerce, and industry."
"Autonomous logistics networks are reaching an inflection point," said Brady Watkins, President and General Manager of SoftBank Robotics America. "The challenge is no longer just the technology itself. It is how to operationalize that technology in a way that delivers consistent, measurable outcomes. Our role is to help integrate and scale platforms like Matternet in real-world delivery environments."
"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."
