Noida, Aug 25 (APAC Media): Bengaluru-based aerospace startup Airbound has raised $37 million in a funding round led by Greenoaks, with participation from DoorDash, Lachy Groom, Lightspeed and Humba Ventures, as it looks to expand its autonomous delivery operations and scale up production.
The latest investment takes Airbound’s total funding to nearly $50 million since the company was founded in 2023. The startup said the funds will be used to strengthen its engineering capabilities, expand manufacturing and support commercial deployment of its drone delivery technology.
Airbound is developing autonomous aircraft designed to transport small packages over short and medium distances. The company believes its technology can offer a faster and potentially more cost-effective alternative to traditional road-based delivery, particularly in congested urban areas.
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“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,” founder and chief executive Naman Pushp said.
The company has entered into a commercial deployment agreement with the Andhra Pradesh government to develop a drone delivery network connecting Amaravati, Vijayawada and Guntur. Airbound aims to eventually enable as many as 10,000 flights a day across sectors including e-commerce, retail and healthcare.
The startup said it has conducted more than 13,000 autonomous flights in Bengaluru and Guntur. More than 1,000 of these flights were carried out for Narayana Health, transporting diagnostic samples between healthcare facilities.
According to the company, one of its healthcare delivery routes covering around 2.5 miles can be completed in about seven minutes by drone, compared with significantly longer travel times by road in some cases.
Airbound’s existing aircraft weighs around 3.3 pounds and can carry a payload of about 2.2 pounds. The company is also developing a larger aircraft that is expected to carry payloads of up to 11 pounds.
Its aircraft use a tail-sitter configuration, allowing them to take off and land vertically before transitioning into horizontal flight.
Pushp said the company’s long-term objective is to make autonomous aerial transport economically competitive with conventional trucking.
“We want to build towards a world where everything has cost parity with trucking,” he said.
The company, however, faces regulatory hurdles as it seeks to expand operations. Large-scale drone deliveries, particularly flights beyond the operator’s direct line of sight, require regulatory approvals.
Airbound said its longer-term strategy is to focus on developing and manufacturing aircraft and technology that can be used by logistics companies, rather than directly operating every delivery network itself.
The fresh funding comes as drone companies globally seek to develop commercial applications for autonomous aircraft in logistics, healthcare and last-mile delivery. India, with its large e-commerce market and growing digital infrastructure, is emerging as an important market for such technologies.
–ENDS–
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and is based on publicly available information. APAC Media is not responsible for investment decisions or losses. Please conduct your own research or consult a financial adviser before investing.
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