Smart-mailbox startup rebrands as Arrive, expects to generate revenue soon

May 12, 2023 | Susan Orr | Source: ibj.com

KEYWORDS DRONES / PACKAGE DELIVERY / SMALL BIZ STARTUPS / TECHNOLOGY

The Indianapolis-based tech startup formerly known as Dronedek Corp. has rebranded itself as Arrive and says it hopes to begin generating revenue from its patented smart mailboxes by the end of this year.

Dronedek, which has created a smart-mail box for accepting secure deliveries, has rebranded to Arrive. (Photo courtesy of Arrive)

Arrive officially unveiled its new branding this week at the Xponential 2023 trade show in Denver. Xponential is an annual event for those working in robotics and autonomous technology.

Founded in 2019, Arrive’s core product—a smart mailbox—is a climate-controlled secure receptacle for deliveries made by couriers, drones or robots. It’s designed to unlock when a recognized delivery approaches, accept the delivery and relock until the mailbox’s owner retrieves the parcel.

The company envisions the mailboxes could work for a wide variety of uses. Homeowners, for instance, could use the receptacles to keep their Amazon deliveries safe from front-porch thieves or as a place to keep a food delivery warm and safe from the elements. A health care facility could potentially use a receptacle as a secure spot for delivering tissue samples for lab testing.

Last summer, the company did a pilot test in which the U.S. Postal Service delivered mail to four of Arrive’s smart mailboxes in Lawrence.

“The world really is our oyster,” said Dan O’Toole, the inventor of the Arrive mailbox and the company’s CEO.

The company has secured two patents for its technology and says the protection should help give it a competitive advantage.

O’Toole said the company decided to change its branding because the Dronedek name was limiting—its smart mailbox can be used for drone deliveries but also with deliveries via mail carrier, delivery driver or even robot.

The old name was also confusing to outsiders, O’Toole said. “I found myself saying all the time, ‘We’re not the drone—we’re the drone deck.’”

O’Toole said the company, which currently has 13 employees, hasn’t yet started earning revenue. He said the company should start doing so in the fourth quarter.

Customers won’t purchase the company’s smart mailboxes, named Arrive Points. Rather, they will be available to users on a subscription basis with a monthly fee of $30 for residential users. The company is still working out the pricing for non-residential users, O’Toole said.

The company has secured financial support from outside sources.

In 2021, the Indiana Economic Development Corp. offered the company up to $1.7 million in tax credits, based on its plans to add 85 jobs by the end of 2025. The incentives are performance-based, meaning that Arrive cannot claim the tax credits until after it hires Hoosiers.

According to the IEDC’s online transparency portal, Arrive has claimed only a little over $24,000 in tax credits to date.

O’Toole said the company is on track to hit that hiring goal. “We are on a trajectory to meet or exceed the 85 [new jobs] number within that time frame,” he said.

Arrive has also received significant financial support via crowdfunding campaigns and angel investors.

The company is currently conducting a crowdfunding campaign that has raised a little more than $700,000. According to the offering memorandum for the campaign, Arrive also raised $3.5 million in 2021 and another $2 million in 2022.

*Edited 5/12