Airbound Raises $37 Mn to Build Autonomous Aircraft for Cargo and Passengers

The funding round was led by Greenoaks, with participation from DoorDash, Lachy Groom, Lightspeed and Humba Ventures.

Airbound will use the new funding to support engineering, large-scale manufacturing and market expansion as it develops autonomous aircraft for cargo and passenger transportation.

“We believe in a world where all movement happens in the air. Not some of it. Not most of it. All of it. A world where flying is cheaper than taking the bus, where moving a single package costs less than moving 20 tons by truck, and where we look at cars the way we look at horses today,” said Naman Pushp, founder and chief executive officer of Airbound.

“Better physics leads to better economics, which unlocks the potential to move people and goods for a fraction of a cent. That is what we’re building at Airbound,” he added.

“Moving goods has always forced a choice between fast and cheap,” said Neil Shah, partner at Greenoaks. “Trucks are cheap and slow, planes are fast and expensive, and nothing has broken the trade-off in more than a century. Airbound does. When one autonomous aircraft can move a single package with the cost efficiency of a fully loaded 20-ton truck, fast delivery and cheap delivery are no longer in tension, and roads stop being the default.”

Founded by Naman Pushp, Airbound is building lightweight autonomous aircraft designed to make air transportation more affordable and practical.

The startup’s aircraft use a blended-wing-body design that allows them to take off vertically and then fly horizontally. Airbound is first focusing on autonomous delivery services before developing larger aircraft for passengers and heavier cargo.

The company has already completed more than 1,000 autonomous flights with Narayana Health, carrying medical samples between healthcare facilities. These flights have helped reduce delivery times from hours to just minutes.

Airbound currently focuses on aircraft that carry smaller loads and plans to gradually build larger models. The company wants to improve its technology with smaller aircraft before moving to models that could compete with traditional ground transportation.

Instead of selling its aircraft, Airbound plans to offer them through a delivery-as-a-service model. This means the company will operate the aircraft and keep control of its technology and fleet.

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