Étienne Louvet (BBA 20) founded IONA, an autonomous drone delivery solution for rural logistics. 

“During the COVID pandemic, I was shocked by the unequal access to services for rural communities. My late 92-year-old grandmother was dependent on shops, as getting anything delivered was impossible or way too expensive. Then I realized that drones could fix the issue.” 

His company developed a patented cargo drone and proprietary autonomous operating system that is offered in an end-to-end “white-label” solution for logistics operators. “It can carry up to 20kg to over 100km using batteries of 1kWh – like an electric bike – thanks to its best-in-class energy efficiency. And it is compliant-by-design with the regulatory framework for autonomous flights.” Last but not least, it includes a software infrastructure allowing to combine drones with traditional vehicles in day-to-day operations seamlessly.

The company was incorporated in 2021 in the UK and then expanded with an Irish subsidiary and a US Topco. It recently closed a $4m+ Seed, and generated +$1m in revenue to date. “Starting with rural areas opens a myriad of use cases as a primary market. But there also are secondary markets in urban areas with specific medical or industrial segments. It’s an untapped $3.4B SOM – and 200Mt of CO2e.”

Find out more:
ionadrones.com

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Image : L'équipe de IONA avec Étienne Louvet (en bas à gauche)