Matternet Unveils M3, Its Next-Generation Autonomous Drone Delivery Platform
End-to-end autonomous system designed for high-volume delivery from compact micro-hubs
Dave’s Hot Chicken and Apian named initial launch partners; commercial service targeted for second half of 2027
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., Sept. 28, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Matternet, Inc. (OTCQB: MTTN) (“Matternet” or the “Company”), the world’s only FAA Type-Certified drone delivery company, today unveiled M3, its next-generation autonomous drone delivery platform built for instant delivery across food, retail, healthcare and industrial logistics.
M3 is designed so that a restaurant, retailer or hospital can have a dedicated delivery micro-hub on its roof and send goods without an operator on site or anyone interacting with the aircraft. The sender places a bag or package in the M3 Portal and walks away; the system autonomously handles everything from that point through delivery.
“We started Matternet to build a new layer of transportation above our cities,” said Andreas Raptopoulos, Founder and CEO of Matternet. “M2 proved it can be done safely for some of the most demanding use cases in the world. M3 is how we scale drone delivery into an infrastructure layer that anyone can access and everyone can depend on.”
The M3 system consists of three components:
- M3 Aircraft: an autonomous drone designed to carry packages weighing up to 11 pounds within a 10-mile service radius. Its cargo bay accepts ordinary merchant packaging, including food and retail bags and boxes, and supports specialized configurations for healthcare and industrial payloads.
- M3 Dock: stores and charges the aircraft between flights and can be installed on rooftops or at ground level.
- M3 Portal: a low-cost, off-grid drop-box where senders can deposit multiple packages at once for asynchronous pickup. Its freestanding design is intended to simplify installation and speed deployment.
“Drone delivery should be a utility: largely invisible, dependable and low-cost,” Raptopoulos said. “A restaurant, retailer or hospital should be able to connect to an autonomous delivery network the same way a building connects to water or power.”
Matternet also announced Dave’s Hot Chicken as an initial launch partner for M3 in the U.S. and Apian as a launch partner in the U.K., where the two companies operate a drone delivery network for the National Health Service in Central London. Matternet plans to announce additional M3 partnerships in the coming months, focused on high-volume, instant delivery use cases.
Building for Scale
Matternet is targeting the second half of 2027 for the start of M3 commercial service and plans to build manufacturing capacity for the M3 aircraft in the United States. Matternet will also draw on its strategic partnership with SoftBank Robotics America, announced in April 2026, to accelerate deployment of its delivery networks in the U.S. and other key markets.
M3 builds on more than a decade of Matternet operating experience and on M2, the first drone delivery system to achieve standard Type Certification and Production Certification from the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration. Over that time, Matternet has operated commercial drone delivery networks in the United States and Europe across healthcare, logistics and residential delivery.
About Matternet
Matternet is a leading developer of commercial drone delivery systems for urban and suburban environments. Its M2 platform is the only drone delivery system to achieve standard Type Certification and Production Certification from the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration, and M3 is its next-generation platform designed for end-to-end autonomous aerial delivery at scale. Matternet’s technology also includes automated ground infrastructure and the Matternet Software Platform, and is operated directly for customers or in partnership with logistics organizations, such as UPS.
Matternet has achieved many industry firsts, including being the first company authorized for commercial Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) drone delivery operations over cities in Switzerland and, with UPS Flight Forward, the first to launch routine revenue-generating drone delivery operations in the U.S. Matternet has more than a decade of operating experience, beginning with humanitarian drone delivery missions in 2014, launching B2B healthcare operations in Europe in 2017 and the U.S. in 2019, and expanding into B2C drone delivery operations in Silicon Valley in 2024.
Additional information about Matternet, including SEC filings and investor materials, is available at investor.matternet.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, which are subject to the “safe harbor” created by those sections based on management’s beliefs and assumptions and on information currently available to management and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause results to be materially different from expectations.
Forward-looking statements relate to, among other things, the Company’s intent to scale its drone delivery system, expand commercial availability across restaurant, retail, healthcare and industrial logistics markets, advance and commercialize its next-generation autonomous delivery platform, the targeted specifications and installation requirements of M3, the expected performance and timing of M3 testing, customer pilots and commercial service, the regulatory approvals required for M3, its plans to scale manufacturing capacity, and its customer and strategic partnerships, as well as other plans, objectives, expectations, business strategy, growth opportunities, market opportunity, commercial expansion, regulatory developments, financing plans, and future operating performance.
Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied include, among others, risks related to the Company’s ability to complete the development, testing and certification of M3, achieve M3’s targeted specifications and performance, scale commercial operations, obtain and maintain regulatory approvals, including site and local approvals for its ground infrastructure, manufacture and deploy its technology at scale, secure customer contracts and partnerships, access capital on acceptable terms to fund its operations and M3 development, compete effectively, and execute its business plan, as well as other factors detailed from time to time in the reports the Company files with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), including the risk factors in its Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2026. Copies of reports filed with the SEC are posted on the Company’s website and are available without charge. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and speak only as of the date hereof, and, except as required by law, the Company disclaims any obligation to update these forward-looking statements to reflect future events or circumstances.
Contacts
Media: press@matternet.com
Business: business@matternet.com
Investors: investors@matternet.com
