Manna Air Delivery establishes Tulsa, Oklahoma as its US base following pause to Irish delivery ops
Manna, an Irish founded specialist in autonomous drone delivery, has announced the launch of its first full scale metropolitan US operation in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
The move establishes Tulsa as Manna’s central operational base in the United States with the company expecting to create more than 1,000 jobs there over the next three years across aviation and flight operations, commercial operations, customer support, manufacturing, maintenance and business functions.
It follows the announcement of a “strategic pause” to its Irish delivery operations. The company has suffered a series of setbacks in recent times, including decisions by local councils that blocked its ability to operate drone delivery hubs in parts of Dublin. As a result, it has now effectively grounded its operations in Ireland for the time being.
“This is a proud day for Manna and for innovation," says Bobby Healy, Founder and CEO at Manna. "We've spent years developing one of the world's most advanced drone delivery platforms in Ireland, and today we're bringing that technology to the United States. We've chosen Tulsa as the base for our next phase of growth - their approach to airspace and aviation is genuinely forward looking, and the support we've had from city officials in enabling our expansion has been first class.”
“America represents the world's largest opportunity for drone delivery, and we're excited about creating more than 1,000 American jobs over the next three years while continuing to invest in our headquarters, our people and our innovation in Ireland. This isn't about moving from Ireland - it's about taking Irish technology to the world.”
2026 RTIH Innovation Awards
Drone deliveries will be a key focus area at the 2026 RTIH Innovation Awards.
The awards are now open for entries and celebrate global retail technology innovation in a fast moving omnichannel world.
Our winners will be revealed at the 2026 RTIH Innovation Awards Ceremony, taking place at The HAC in Central London on Wednesday, 4th November.
Check out our 2025 winners here.
Our 2025 hall of fame entrants were revealed during a sold out event which took place at The HAC on 16th October and consisted of a drinks reception, three course meal, and awards ceremony presided over by award winning comedian, actress and writer Tiff Stevenson.
In his welcome speech, Scott Thompson, Founder and Editor, RTIH, said: “This is the awards’ fifth year as a physical event. We started off with just 30 people at the South Place Hotel not far from here, then moved to London Bridge Hotel, then The Barbican, and last year RIBA’s HQ in the West End.”
“But I’m conscious of the fact that, to quote the legend that is Taylor Swift, You’re only as hot as your last hit, baby. So, this year we’ve moved to our biggest venue yet, and also pulled in our largest number of entries to date and broken attendance records.”
He added: “This year’s submissions have without doubt been our best yet. To quote one of the judges: The examples of innovative developments across both traditional and digital retail spaces were truly remarkable.”
Congratulations to our winners, and a big thank you to our sponsors, judging panel, the legend that is Tiff Stevenson, and all those who attended our 2025 gathering.
