Matternet wants to rain hot chicken from the sky

Matternet wants to make fried chicken rain from the sky. To do that, the drone delivery company has developed a new version of its last-mile logistics system, which features a drone that carries up to 11 pounds and simpler, lower-cost dock stations. The company is looking to roll out this delivery system in the second half of 2027. Called the M3, this autonomous architecture puts new, more powerful drones, new drone docks, and drop boxes on the premises of restaurants, retailers, or hospitals. The company’s initial U.S. partner is Dave’s Hot Chicken. The idea, Matternet CEO Andreas Raptopoulos says, is to turn drone delivery into a utility: “largely invisible, dependable, and low-cost,” something a business connects to “the same way a building connects to water or power.” Matternet is launching the M3 into a nascent U.S. drone delivery market that’s still plagued by regulatory hurdles, opposition from residents, and availability in a limited number of locations. In the U.S., there are already four major players operating in the space: Amazon Prime Air, Flytrex, Wing, and Zipline. Amazon, for one, flies from sites in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, Houston, Phoenix, Detroit, and Tampa,…