Retailer Wilko has today announced that it is has made a £3 million investment in autonomous vehicle company StreetDrone, to progress its position as a key player in the world of autonomous last mile delivery.
The investment, which is part of a wider multi-million-pound pre-series A round, will enable StreetDrone to accelerate the development of its autonomous delivery vehicle and systems.
The investment is part of a wider multi-million-pound pre-series A round, which will allow StreetDrone to accelerate the development of its autonomous delivery vehicle and systems.
StreetDrone is aiming to deploy driverless delivery vehicles on the UK’s roads by the end of 2023 and is working with UK-based vehicle safety agencies on defining the standards the vehicles must abide by.
Jerome Saint-Marc, CEO of Wilko said, “Autonomous vehicles are the future of automated logistics, and StreetDrone is undoubtedly one of the key players that will lead the way in making this technology viable.
“Ultimately, it has the potential to reduce costs for customers when deployed in the retail sector. We look forward to supporting them on this journey.”
Mike Potts, Founder and CEO of StreetDrone added: Wilko will help us realise our aim of bringing autonomous last-mile services to UK and European roads, to the benefit of both retailers and consumers. Our technology, aligned with Wilko’s determined strategy to enrich the lives of its customers, is the perfect fusion of our capability and their requirement.”
