Airbound, a drone technology startup, has secured $1.7 million in seed funding led by Lightspeed. The company is developing the world’s most efficient delivery drone, featuring its unique TRT design, GlobeNewswire reports.
Why does this matter? Airbound is a drone delivery company developing next-generation drones to drastically cut last-mile delivery costs.
By tackling key technical challenges, they’ve condensed 30 kg of hardware into just 1kg, making their drones safer, more scalable, and cost-effective.
This specific design combines a blended wing body with a tailsitter. Airbound aims to revolutionize logistics by cutting delivery costs significantly compared to traditional methods.
Airbound developed a way to dramatically cut the weight of their airframe from six pounds to just 400 grams.
This significant reduction in weight not only enhances the drone’s efficiency but also aligns with the company’s ambitious vision: to create a world where delivery becomes virtually free.
Airbound hopes to break barriers in drone delivery
Airbound is initially targeting medical deliveries, focusing on routine tasks like transporting blood samples from health centers to testing laboratories.
Once the system is successfully scaled, the company plans to branch into other areas, such as food and grocery delivery, where cutting logistics costs can greatly boost profitability.
To date, Airbound’s drones have already covered thousands of kilometers, showcasing their potential and reliability.
Last-mile delivery is one of the most challenging and costly parts of logistics, often limiting efficiency and profitability.
Naman Pushp, founder and CEO of Airbound says: “We scrutinized every vehicle system to reduce weight, enhance safety and reliability, and maximize efficiency.
Key challenges in last-mile delivery
Innovative solutions like Airbound’s delivery drones are poised to overcome the key challenges facing last-mile logistics. From navigating regulatory barriers to tackling high operational costs, Airbound is reshaping the industry with cutting-edge technology.
Here’s how the company is making it happen:
- Regulatory hurdles: The drone delivery industry has struggled with complex regulations, slowing widespread adoption.
- High costs: Expensive per-mile costs have made drones less competitive for last-mile logistics.
- Innovative design: Airbound’s TRT design is set to be the lightest, safest, and most cost-effective delivery drone yet.
- Affordable delivery: With Airbound’s technology, delivery costs could drop to just a few cents per mile.
Who is Lightspeed?
Lightspeed, a global venture capital business. It has spent the last two decades at the forefront of innovation, investing in groundbreaking trends across the enterprise, consumer, health, and Fintech sectors.
With a portfolio spanning over 500 companies worldwide, the firm has played a pivotal role in the success of industry leaders such as Affirm, Carta, Epic Games, Snap, and Razorpay.
Hemant Mohapatra, partner at Lightspeed says: “Drones are the future of deliveries and we are highly optimistic about the potential of this game-changing technology in revolutionizing logistics.”
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Photo Credit: Airbound
About the author
Sharl is a qualified journalist. He has over 10 years’ experience in the media industry, including positions as an editor of a magazine and Business Editor of a daily newspaper. Sharl also has experience in logistics specifically operations, where he worked with global food aid organisations distributing food into Africa. Sharl enjoys writing business stories and human interest pieces.
