The most advanced transportation method to healthcare raises strategic investment

A strategic investment was announced by Matternet, a pioneer in drone delivery for medical applications. The round of funding will provide Matternet with access to a broad set of opportunities in the U.S. healthcare logistics market and accelerate existing partnerships in key international markets. McKesson Ventures joins Matternet's roster of strategic investors Boeing, Sony and Mercedes-Benz, alongside its growing list of strategic partners UPS and Swiss Post.

Matternet is moving full-speed ahead with its mission to bring the most advanced transportation method to healthcare in the U.S. and worldwide. The company has created a new transportation mode using drone networks to deliver lightweight, urgent items on-demand with high predictability and at a fraction of the time, cost and ecological footprint of any other transportation method. 

"We are proud to be creating the future of medical transportation and are thrilled about our investment from McKesson Ventures that will accelerate making our vision a reality," said Matternet CEO Andreas Raptopoulos. "Through powerful partnerships, we are set to change the lives of millions of people. Our vision is that every hospital, clinic, lab and pharmacy in the world will be connected through the most advanced, fastest, most efficient transportation method available today."

"Matternet is leading the way in defining how drone technology can be best leveraged by health systems to improve the transport of items across their campuses and is well positioned to be a leading solution for last mile delivery in general," said Tom Rodgers, SVP and Managing Director of McKesson Ventures. "McKesson has a long history as a healthcare supply chain leader and is constantly looking for innovations that can improve the speed, safety and efficiency within our supply chain on behalf of our customers and their patients."  

Matternet has been leading the urban healthcare drone logistics market since 2017, when it launched an extensive program with Swiss Post and became the first company in the world to be authorized for full operations of drone delivery over cities. Earlier this year, Matternet and UPS announced a flagship partnership to provide drone logistics services to US healthcare systems, starting at WakeMed Health & Hospitals in Raleigh, NC. At WakeMed, UPS and Matternet have successfully flown more than 1,500 flights and delivered nearly 8,000 lab samples. In September, the Matternet M2 drone logistics systemenabled the first FAA-approved drone airline, UPS Flight Forward, to provide fast expansion to healthcare facilities across the US.