2 days ago
Teen Hackathon Winner Builds Bengaluru Startup With Nearly $50 Million Funding
Naman Pushp started building robots and drones when he was young.
During the 2020 lockdown, he entered a drone project in a hackathon.
The project won $500, which he used to build a better prototype.
At 16, he began receiving investment for his company, Airbound.
He later chose to run the company instead of attending Carnegie Mellon University.
Airbound makes aircraft that take off like drones and then fly forward like airplanes.
The aircraft can carry goods, including medical samples.
The company says its aircraft have made more than 13,000 autonomous flights.
Its next big challenge is making many lightweight aircraft at a larger scale.
Naman Pushp founded Airbound after a drone project won $500 at a 2020 hackathon.
The 21-year-old turned down admission to Carnegie Mellon University to focus on Airbound.
Airbound has raised $37 million in Series A funding, bringing total funding to nearly $50 million.
Its aircraft can carry about 1 kilogram and has completed more than 13,000 autonomous flights.
Airbound drones have transported medical samples for Narayana Health between clinics and hospitals.
- Who
- Naman Pushp, founder and CEO of Airbound, and the company's investors and partners.
- What
- Airbound is developing lightweight aircraft for drone deliveries and has raised nearly $50 million in total funding.
- Where
- Airbound is based in Bengaluru and has conducted flights in Bengaluru and the Guntur region.
- When
- Pushp began the project in 2020 at age 15; he is now 21.
- Why
- Pushp wants to make drone delivery cost-competitive with trucking by reducing the energy aircraft spend carrying their own weight.
Key facts
- Founder and CEO
- Naman Pushp
- Company
- Airbound
- Series A funding
- $37 million, led by Greenoaks
- Total funding
- Nearly $50 million
- Current aircraft
- Approximately 1.5 kilograms, carrying around 1 kilogram of cargo
- Flight record
- More than 13,000 autonomous flights, including over 1,000 for Narayana Health
- Current route capacity
- Up to 20 flights per day on one clinic-to-hospital route
- Future challenge
- Scaling production of lightweight carbon-fibre aircraft
Quotes
Naman Pushp
Founder and CEO of Airbound
“We want to build towards a world where everything has cost parity with trucking.”
livemint.com
Sources
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