BusinessWire India
Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], May 13: Sarla Aviation, a pioneer in Urban Air Mobility focusing on Electric Vertical Take-off and Landing vehicles (eVTOLs) or flying taxis, announces its first institutional funding from Campus Fund, with participation from Theia Ventures. The capital infusion will propel Sarla’s development efforts, enabling testing and validation, advancing the company towards commercialising its product.
Adrian Schmidt, Co-founder and CEO of Sarla Aviation, commented, “The urban air mobility market presents a tremendous opportunity to reshape how we navigate cities and beyond. With this pre-seed funding, we take a significant stride towards realising affordable air taxis, engineered for deployability and operational efficiency, particularly in emerging markets.”
The three founders of Sarla Aviation are Adrian Schmidt, a German student-turned-founder who chose to forgo his master’s degree at The New School in New York, to embark on this venture, leveraging his prior experience as a product designer at Lilium; Rakesh Gaonkar a Production & Designer Engineer who worked alongside Schmidt at Lillium and Shivam Chauhan whose proficiency in battery management systems were cultivated at Joby Aviation. Together, this determined trio aims to establish the “Tata of Skies”, envisaging an affordable – world’s most economical and reliable air-taxi solution crafted in India for global accessibility.
Richa Bajpai, founder of Campus Fund, said, “Amidst congested urban infrastructures, the urban air mobility market unveils a vast segment ripe for innovation. It is highly encouraging to witness student innovators daring to redefine urban transportation from the ground up. Equally motivating is to see Non-Indian Students choosing India to build their startups!”
At the heart of Sarla’s ambitious endeavour lies the development of its maiden full-scale model, designed to accommodate 6 passengers and 1 pilot, with a payload capacity of 680 kgs. This ground-breaking eVTOL is projected to cover distances of up to 160 km at speeds reaching 280 km/hr. The other notable contenders in this space include Lilium, Joby, and Archer in the international markets.
Sarla Aviation offers operational flexibility, enabling either direct fleet management or providing advanced aircraft to industry leaders keen on entering the urban air mobility sector, including aviation giants like Air India and IndiGo, as well as ride-sharing operators such as Uber and Ola.
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