Manna Aero, the Ireland-based autonomous drone delivery startup, has announced a significant push into the United States, marking a shift from its previously modest American presence. Backed by $50 million in venture capital raised in April, the company will build a US operations and manufacturing centre in Tulsa, Oklahoma, that is expected to employ around 1,000 people over several years. The move matters because it positions Manna to compete directly with established drone delivery operators such as Zipline, Amazon, and Google's Wing in what its founder calls the market "that everybody wants".

Construction on the Tulsa factory is under way, with manufacturing expected to begin in roughly a year, while the operations team is set to grow to 200–300 people over the next 12 months. Manna is assessing six other US cities and hopes to begin entering them by the end of 2027. The company remains headquartered in Ireland but has stopped drone deliveries there, citing a lack of planning regulations, and has hired former Ryanair chief marketing officer Kenny Jacobs as executive chair and president. CEO Bobby Healy credited the Trump administration's and the FAA's policies with giving the industry a "turbo boost", prompting Manna to concentrate its resources on the US, where it has operated near Dallas since 2023.