Kiki Air’s founder, Yale senior Jason Lu, says his
company grew from a class project and has
won a $150,000 grant from Y Combinator, a
California-based investor in startups.
“The convenience store business model hasn’t
been updated in a hundred years,” Co-founder
Cat Orman, a sophomore, told the student
newspaper. “Delivery is expensive, inefficient
and pays drivers terrible wages. We created Kiki
Air because we want to bring that model into
the future in the way that creates real jobs and
reduces the carbon footprint.”
Customers are notified when a drone is nearing
the prearranged drop zone to ensure they are in
the area to pick up a package.
The newspaper reported that a Kiki Air drone fell
last week onto a campus walkway, but nobody
was injured. Orman described the incident as a
“controlled landing” and said the company has
increased training and changed drop locations
after the incident.
Yale officials did not immediately return
messages left Monday seeking comment.
Company officials say they hope eventually to
expand the service to other campuses.