Zomato acquires Lucknow-based drone delivery start-up, TechEagle

Paving the future of food delivery, Zomato has acquired TechEagle Innovations – a Lucknow-based start-up that works exclusively on drones. TechEagle will help Zomato carve a path toward drone-based food delivery in India, creating a hub to hub delivery network powered by hybrid multi-rotor drones. 

TechEagle was founded in 2015 by Vikram Singh Meena when he was a student at IIT-Kanpur. Since then, his young start-up has been actively involved in the development of unmanned aerial vehicles, with prime focus on custom-made drones capable of carrying up to 5 kg payload. 

Speaking on the development, Deepinder Goyal, Founder & CEO, Zomato, said, “We are currently at the early stage of aerial innovations and are taking baby steps towards building a tomorrow, wherein users can expect a drone to deliver the food they ordered online. We are thrilled to have Vikram and his team join us towards accomplishing this mission. Our first ‘delivery job’ currently is to design multi-rotor drones that can pick up a payload under 5 kg and set up drone delivery circuits for reducing the last mile delivery leg. We believe that robots powering the last mile delivery is an inevitable part of the future and hence, is going to be a significant area of investment for us.” 

The food tech giant has been on a roll lately, expanding its online ordering and food delivery business to 100 cities in India and launching its premium subscription programme, Zomato Gold, in Jakarta and Manila. Similarly, HyperPure has had a favourable reception so far and is slated to open its next centre in the NCR in a couple of weeks. Through HyperPure, Zomato has already delivered over 15,000 orders, moved 1,500 metric tons of fresh produce and has orders booked for over $6 million per month. Zomato’s corporate catering business, Food@Work, has also been expanding into new territories. 

Food delivery business currently contributes about 65 per cent to the overall revenue of the company; this is comparable to 35 per cent in January 2018. 

“Zomato is one of the most innovative technology companies in India, and the only company with a singular focus on food. We are excited to be a part of the team and together build something which will certainly play a significant role in the future of primary and secondary logistics in the food supply chain in India,” remarked Vikram Singh Meena. 

Zomato currently delivers 22 million monthly orders and is strengthening its last mile delivery. The company currently boasts of a last mile delivery fleet of 1.5 lakh partners.