IONA

Autonomous Platforms Will Change The Industry Forever 🛸 Steve Jobs would have been proud. He always praised embedded systems as the only way to create great products at Apple. This is especially true when developing complex technology that must perform consistently without human intervention. Traditionally, the roles in manufacturing were split: manufacturers built the products, and operators used them. This segmentation parallels the digital world’s separation between platforms and optimisation layers. The Integrated Platform In this new era, platforms integrate their operational capacity, meaning optimisation and functionality are inseparable. One without the other is incomplete and cannot function properly - or legally (e.g. BVLOS). The Evolving Roles and Value Creation - Manufacturer 1.0: Focus: Meeting regulatory safety standards for drivers or pilots. Role: "safe and ready to operate" ->e.g. General Motors - Manufacturer 2.0: Focus: Developing autonomous platforms. Role: "safe and ready to service" -> e.g. General Motors acquired Cruise For example, a manufacturer 1.0 knows how to build safe vehicles for human operators. However, when the safety requirement shifts from the human to the system itself, the manufacturer’s role changes. They must now create an autonomous system that meets all regulatory standards. A manufacturer 2.0 views the vehicle as a combination of components and materials, but their primary role is to develop the autonomous platform that operates the vehicle. Customers can use this platform autonomously, but the real value comes from integrating optimisation into the system, making it work seamlessly. NB: "manufacturer" here doesn't mean you need to open factories. You can have a very scalable assembly model from various suppliers, but the architecture will be yours and you are defined as the 'OEM'. Simplifying the Concept Think of it this way: in the past, a car company built a car, and a taxi company operated it. Now, the car company not only builds the car but also the autonomous driving system. The taxi company simply uses the car e.g. what prevents the car company to create a ride-hailing app and replace the taxi company completely? Breaking news: Tesla just announced a ride-hailing app. --- To illustrate, enjoy this blue sky take off of our Sonnet Quad Platform at IONA - the embedded solution for logistics providers to turn last-mile and rural logistics into their most profitable segment 😉 #startup #drone #logistics #aerospace #autonomous #bvlos #dronedleivery #innovation #sustainable #europe #takeoff

30 years ago, building a website was "tech" 20 years ago, building a SaaS was "tech" 15 years ago, building an app was "tech" ... but in 2024, the world has changed! 🌍💸 The reality is simple: when dealing with autonomous systems, for instance, 90% of the work to operate is the foundational building block of everything else (so your IP is your end-to-end integration). It doesn't mean that you need to open factories, but you source some parts of your software like you source your carbon fibre. To my knowledge, I don't see many investors rushing to invest in a carbon fibre manufacturer? Yet, unlike Andreessen Horowitz, some VCs are still rushing to do that with non-defensible software players 🤷🏻♂️ #technology #hardware #software #startups #drones

🏆 Achievement Alert: a different kind of endurance testing! Last week, our very own Sebastian Bidoli - and his friend - conquered the #UltraXSlovenia 50km (Ultra Marathon Trail), finishing joint-first in the men's category and 4th overall! 🙌⛰️ Drop a congrats below, as he deserves a round of applause! 🎉 #TeamSuccess #Startup #Running #Sports #IONA

Friday Mood - Stable and Good 🙌 #EnduranceTesting We like to share more of the background R&D from time to time, and this is a good example! The team fine-tunes performances, testing the endurance and metrics of the drone under various circumstances and using scenarios. It's a quite magical feeling to see this majestuous bird floating in the air as if it had been pegged to the background. Stay tuned! 🦄

We are terribly sorry! 🙏 With our V1, our customers (i.e. logistics) must load the parcels manually using the back opening, as demonstrated here. Of course, this won't be the only way - even manually - on the V2 that is coming after. 😉 What about the delivery? Less of an issue, sliding out the parcels doesn't require the same systems. No one has to work for the drop! Let us know what is the next option you'd like to discuss or see. We are preparing content for the coming months and we'd love to satisfy your curiosity (- when possible). PS: amazing actor, DM for contact Dave Wilshere #drone #cleantech #delivery #logistics #robotics #startup #innovation

Maslow's pyramid doesn't work without its base. At the end of the day, houses are not built 'on the cloud', and we don't eat SaaS for breakfast. Just like the COVID-19 pandemic did, we should more often consider what is fundamental to our societies. I usually consider services and/or software as "the optimisation layer", but you can't optimise something that doesn't exist. Unfortunately, in Europe and the US, we have day-dreamed a world of pure services for so long, that we likely lost touch with reality. In February, I met with Jean-Philippe Courtois who explained to a few Frenchfounders' members that with AI, Microsoft became a "CAPEX" company. Again, behind the software, CPUs are doing the work. Boeing is a perfect example of a company that - unlike Microsoft - forgot what was tech. After years of R&D building up the best technologies, the company dismantled the IP trying to optimise its price per share. Tragically, with Aerospace, it means people dying. Finance was created to support the real economy, but now the real economy has become the excuse for Finance. #Finance #Innovation #Industry #Boeing PS: Thankfully, Will Drewery is working on how to fix that 🙌

Tremendous experience engaging with the wider community from the Freight Innovation Cluster, wonderfully organized by the whole team at Connected Places Catapult in London. It was the perfect opportunity to meet Transport Minister Guy Opperman MP and discuss how IONA can reinvent the way we do local logistics, aligning well with Department for Transport (DfT), United Kingdom's Future of Flight Action plan. Fantastic panel session learnings included: • How the freight sector is openly embracing innovations and continuously looking at net zero solutions as a way to increase shareholder value • Importance of patience capital in Freight industry and the significance of SMART revenue, while carefully identifying early adopters and first customers • The need to address knowledge & skills gap, and diversity & wellbeing while designing governance and processes Huge thanks to Francesca Caramelle-Ngoma, Andrea Pérez Cipollitti, Krithika Ramesh, Poppy Driver, Alisdair Ritchie and Erika Lewis #Cleantech #Logistics #Robotics #DroneDelivery #FreightInnovationFund

Thanks to Guy Opperman (UK Minister for Transport) for his time at the Connected Places Catapult (FIF) showcase event last week. It was a great opportunity to explain how drones can support local communities, with day-to-day services in rural and remote areas i.e. where delivery vans and road vehicles fail to be efficient. ♻️📦 IONA is about reinventing the way we do local logistics, providing an alternative for deliveries anywhere and for everyone. As a start-up thinking globally, governmental support is key to thriving as the market leader for autonomous transportation! 🦄 Department for Transport (DfT), United Kingdom #robotics #drones #aerospace #climate #ESG #startup #innovation #automation #logistics #rural #medical

"Your driver is on the way" - 2024 edition 😏 #cleantech #logistics #robotics #startup #dronedelivery

I'm not an avatar (yet), but I'm seriously considering it... Not only to attend in my place very interesting meetings and events organised by managers trying to reassure themselves more than being effective at project management (👀) but also and foremost for the possibilities that it enables to expand and grow a business. Here, you see the work of 2 hours, from blank page to finish, using Descript which lets you edit videos like a Word document, focusing on the content and leaving the AI to manage the image/cuts. 1) 1 hour to write a new hook/wording for IONA that I wanted to try 2) Then a 10-mn footage for the paragraphs, 2-3 times each (in one go) 3) Select the best take and make the video look better with "eye contact" (and adding a background that implies I know how to read) Is it perfect? Far from it. I should have recorded some segments differently, and smiled more. However, this is an example of "working with AI", as I now understand better how it works and how can I do it better. New AI tools already fuel the way business is done, and it's as important as understanding the internet a few years ago. Thank you, David Grunewald and Johan Elias, for a very actionable and pragmatic intervention during the kickoff days with Climate-KIC. You've managed to captivate my ADHD (😮) and natural tendency to disregard "workshops". (NB: I also used DALL-E to generate an avatar thumbnail based on my profile picture, but the clickbait intro and text are from me).