EmbraerX has teamed up with Oakland-based startup Pyka to accelerate the future of autonomous aerial agriculture operations. The collaboration is focused on technology, certification, operations and the future commercialisation of Pyka's Pelican, an all-electric, autonomous fixed wing crop sprayer.

The company is exploring new market segments for Embraer's agriculture aviation business as president and CEO Daniel Moczydlower explains: "EmbraerX is a market accelerator committed to developing solutions that can transform the world and inspire our partners by approaching unprecedented ideas with creativity and grit. Pyka's innovation and technology capacity is aligned with our strategy to accelerate the creation of innovative business models through partnerships that have the potential for exponential growth.”

Both companies will pursue opportunities to scale commercial services as autonomous aircraft operations in Brazil evolve in the coming years. Pyka's Pelican is already flying for customers in Central America, aiming for a high level of productivity, cost-efficiency, safety and sustainability.

Pyka CEO and co-founder Michael Norcia says: "We've been laser-focused on certifying and delivering a compelling autonomous electric aircraft to serve customers. Now, we are working with an industry leading aerospace partner in one of the largest agricultural markets in the world to help scale our electric aircraft business. We look forward to working with EmbraerX to further integrate autonomous electric aircraft into the agriculture industry and the broader economy."