Airbound
0.0008 euros per kilometer. Is this the future of home delivery of food and other products? Small, ultra-light and cheap drones are already taking orders in India.
Indian startup Airbound raised $8.65 million (around €7.44 million) in an investment round led by Lachy Groom, co-founder of Physical Intelligence. With this capital, the company that develops ultra-light drones promises revolutionize the cost of deliveries.
Naman Pushp founded Airbound in 2020, aged just 15. At age 20, the CEO designed an aircraft that uses a tail-sitter design, in which the drone remains vertical and takes off like a rocket.
Cost 20 times lower than conventional methods
Powered by electric motorcycles, deliveries in India carry loads of up to 3 kg. These vehicles weigh around 150 kg and the energy cost is around 2 Indian rupees (about 2 cents) per kilometer.
Airbound’s TRT drone reduces this cost to 0.10 rupees (about 0.0008 euros) per kilometer. The aircraft is designed for small loads and eliminates the need for a human driver, reducing the total weight of transport by around 30 times.
According to the company, this weight reduction translates into a 20-fold reduction in energy costs per kilometer.
Aerodynamic design inspired by rockets
The body-integrated wing eliminates the need for additional propellers and heavy moving parts. Two are used thrustersrather than the common quadcopter configuration.
Propellers that interrupt the airflow over the wing are avoided in the design. The drone maintains a higher lift/drag ratio, reducing the thrust needed to stay in the air.
The first version weighs 1.5 kg and can carry up to 1 kg of cargo. The second version aims to support 3 kg of load, weighing just 1.2 kg.
Longer-lasting lithium-ion batteries
The aircraft uses lithium-ion batteries instead of common lithium polymer batteries. For comparison purposes, ion batteries last between 500 and 800 cycles, while polymer ones last around 100 to 200 cycles.
According to the startup, each drone costs 2,000 dollars (1,720 euros, in direct conversion) to manufacture, and each delivery currently costs 24 rupees (0.23 euros). The goal is to reduce the cost per delivery to less than 5 rupees (about 5 cents) by the end of 2026.
Drone will debut in pilot program with hospital
Airbound has started a pilot program with Narayana Health hospital in Bengaluru. For three months, the service will make medical logistics deliveries, with the aim of making 10 deliveries per day.
Will be transported medical tests, blood samples and other critical supplies. Other sectors targeted include quick commerce, food deliveries and “other small last-mile delivery areas.”
Industrial-scale production scheduled for 2027
A prototype of the second version should be ready and flying by mid-2026. Series production is planned for the first quarter of 2027.
A startup estimates reaching one million deliveries per day by mid-2027. To achieve this, it plans to increase manufacturing capacity to more than 100 drones per day — currently, it operates at the rate of one drone per day at its unit in Bengalauru.
Furthermore, the expansion to the United States is scheduled for three years after reaching the milestone of one million daily deliveries. Talks are underway with regulators such as the Civil Aviation Authority of India to begin commercial flights soon.
