The decade-old Logistics start-up, Delhivery acquires US-based Transition Robotics Inc and make its entry into the drone technology space, ahead of its initial public offering (IPO) scheduled for next year.
Transition Robotics-a California-based company is focused on building drone or Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) platforms — including from hardware to software design to testing, validation, and manufacturing.
“While we continue to build our supply chain platform, we must look at the long-term developments poised to shape the industry. Bringing TRI [Transition Robotics Inc] onboard gives us a chance to get directly involved with core drone technology as regulations and use cases for drones are evolving in the country,”
Kapil Bharati, chief technology officer, Delivery.
The development comes at a time when the logistics player is devising drone delivery trials in India.
Delhivery earlier this year, signed an agreement with cargo division of airline firm Spicejet, SpiceXpress, to build drone delivery capability in the country.
The two companies — SpiceXpress and Delhivery — have formed one of the consortiums shortlisted by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to conduct trials on Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) drones in India.
Acquisition of Transition Robotics is the third big acquisition done by Delhivery’s this year.
Prior to this, the company acquired software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform Primaseller in March 2021 with an aim to strengthen its long-term vision of becoming an operating system for commerce in India.
Following which Delhivery acquired Spoton Logistics to strengthen its customer relationships and service quality, professional management and technology and engineering.
The Logistics company has also filed its draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) in November to raise ₹7,460 crore via the IPO.
