Bengaluru-based Airbound secured $8.65 million seed funding on October 14, 2025, led by Lachy Groom (Physical Intelligence co-founder), with participation from Humba Ventures, Lightspeed Venture Partners, and senior leaders from Tesla, Anduril, and Ather Energy. The company launched a three-month pilot with Narayana Health for 10 daily medical deliveries using blended-wing-body drones.
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Airbound Seed Funding: Key Details
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Funding Amount | $8.65 million (seed round) |
| Total Raised | Over $10 million |
| Lead Investor | Lachy Groom (Physical Intelligence) |
| Other Investors | Humba Ventures, Lightspeed, Tesla/Anduril/Ather leaders |
| Founded | 2023 |
| Pilot Partner | Narayana Health (3-month program) |
Revolutionary Blended-Wing-Body Design
Founded in 2023, Airbound addresses logistics challenges through proprietary carbon-fiber manufacturing enabling rapid drone production. Each aircraft achieves an exceptional 1kg-to-1.5kg payload-to-aircraft mass ratio—significantly better than competitors. The unique blended-wing-body tailsitter design combines vertical takeoff/landing with fixed-wing aerodynamic efficiency, overcoming tilt-rotor and quadplane limitations.
This engineering approach delivers delivery costs 20 times lower than conventional methods and significantly cheaper than competing drone solutions, making the company’s mission of negligible delivery costs achievable.
Narayana Health Medical Delivery Pilot
The three-month pilot with Narayana Health targets 10 medical deliveries daily, including blood samples, test kits, and essential supplies. This high-stakes proof of concept tests reliability, speed, and cost efficiency in one of the most demanding delivery applications.
Dr. Devi Shetty, Founder and Chairman of Narayana Health, stated: “This initiative reflects our commitment to leveraging technology to better serve patients, particularly in areas where timely access to critical diagnostics and supplies can make a life-saving difference.”
Investor Confidence from Hardware Veterans
The seed round attracted senior leaders from Tesla, Anduril, and Ather Energy—operators who’ve scaled complex hardware and autonomy programs. This reflects deep conviction in Airbound’s technical approach and business model.
Lachy Groom explained: “Airbound’s approach addresses fundamental physics and economics problems that have limited the scalability of existing solutions. Their blended-wing-body design and manufacturing capabilities position them to achieve the cost efficiency needed to make drone delivery truly viable.”
Scaling Beyond Healthcare
Naman Pushp, Founder and CEO, emphasized: “The healthcare sector represents the perfect testing ground for our technology because it demands both reliability and efficiency. Our partnership with Narayana Health validates that our approach can handle the most critical delivery requirements while demonstrating cost advantages that will make our service accessible globally.”
Following this seed round, Airbound plans to scale manufacturing, expand operations beyond medical delivery, refine technology, and prepare for wider market adoption in 2026.
For more information about the technology and mission, visit Airbound’s official website for details.
Explore more Indian drone startups on our aerospace technology section covering innovation in aviation.
The Bottom Line: Airbound’s $8.65 million seed funding validates its revolutionary blended-wing-body drone design achieving 20x lower delivery costs than conventional methods. The Narayana Health pilot demonstrates real-world viability in high-stakes medical logistics, positioning the company for broader market expansion in 2026.
FAQs
What makes Airbound’s drones different from competitors?
Blended-wing-body design achieves 1.5kg-to-1kg payload ratio with 20x lower delivery costs.
When will Airbound drones be available commercially?
The company is preparing for wider market adoption in 2026 after the pilot program.
