Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

Autonomous cargo plane maker lands $7 million tax credit

Pyka’s Pelican Cargo model can haul 400 pounds of payload for 200 miles.

pyka Screen Shot 2023-05-04 at 4.53.35 PM.png

Autonomous electric cargo plane vendor Pyka will expand manufacturing of its zero-emissions aircraft thanks to a $7 million tax credit from the state of California, the startup said today.

Oakland, California-based Pyka was awarded a California Competes Tax Credit with the California Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz), approved last week by the California Competes Tax Credit Committee. The funding follows a venture capital round of $37 million raised last year.


"This support and partnership with GO-Biz accelerates our manufacturing capabilities and facilitates immediate job creation in Oakland and at our test sites across California," Chuma Ogunwole, Pyka Co-Founder & COO, said in a release. "This award accelerates the application of California's zero-emission autonomous aviation innovation and creates economic opportunities for communities across California."

The company makes a Pelican Spray model—for agricultural operations—and Pelican Cargo, for air freight transportation. The cargo model offers 400 pounds of payload in 66 cubic feet of volume with a range of 200 miles.

 

 

 

The Latest

More Stories

AI sensors on manufacturing machine

AI firm Augury banks $75 million in fresh VC

The New York-based industrial artificial intelligence (AI) provider Augury has raised $75 million for its process optimization tools for manufacturers, in a deal that values the company at more than $1 billion, the firm said today.

According to Augury, its goal is deliver a new generation of AI solutions that provide the accuracy and reliability manufacturers need to make AI a trusted partner in every phase of the manufacturing process.

Keep ReadingShow less

Featured

AMR robots in a warehouse

Indian AMR firm Anscer expands to U.S. with new VC funding

The Indian warehouse robotics provider Anscer has landed new funding and is expanding into the U.S. with a new regional headquarters in Austin, Texas.

Bangalore-based Anscer had recently announced new financial backing from early-stage focused venture capital firm InfoEdge Ventures.

Keep ReadingShow less
Report: 65% of consumers made holiday returns this year

Report: 65% of consumers made holiday returns this year

Supply chains continue to deal with a growing volume of returns following the holiday peak season, and 2024 was no exception. Recent survey data from product information management technology company Akeneo showed that 65% of shoppers made holiday returns this year, with most reporting that their experience played a large role in their reason for doing so.

The survey—which included information from more than 1,000 U.S. consumers gathered in January—provides insight into the main reasons consumers return products, generational differences in return and online shopping behaviors, and the steadily growing influence that sustainability has on consumers.

Keep ReadingShow less

Automation delivers results for high-end designer

When you get the chance to automate your distribution center, take it.

That's exactly what leaders at interior design house Thibaut Design did when they relocated operations from two New Jersey distribution centers (DCs) into a single facility in Charlotte, North Carolina, in 2019. Moving to an "empty shell of a building," as Thibaut's Michael Fechter describes it, was the perfect time to switch from a manual picking system to an automated one—in this case, one that would be driven by voice-directed technology.

Keep ReadingShow less

In search of the right WMS

IT projects can be daunting, especially when the project involves upgrading a warehouse management system (WMS) to support an expansive network of warehousing and logistics facilities. Global third-party logistics service provider (3PL) CJ Logistics experienced this first-hand recently, embarking on a WMS selection process that would both upgrade performance and enhance security for its U.S. business network.

The company was operating on three different platforms across more than 35 warehouse facilities and wanted to pare that down to help standardize operations, optimize costs, and make it easier to scale the business, according to CIO Sean Moore.

Keep ReadingShow less