Sarla Aviation Nets $10 Mn To Build Flying Taxis

Sarla Aviation Nets $10 Mn To Build Flying Taxis

SUMMARY

Flying taxi startup Sarla Aviation has secured $10 Mn (around INR 86.5 Cr) in a Series A1 funding round to grow its operations, set up a research and development centre, expand workforce, and launch its flying prototype

The prototype is expected to be unveiled on Friday (January 17), at the Bharat Mobility Global Expo 2025, Delhi NCR

The company also aims to bring its first commercial flight in market by 2028

Flying taxi startup Sarla Aviation has secured $10 Mn (around INR 86.5 Cr) in a Series A1 funding round led by Accel.

The round also saw participation from angel investors, including Flipkart cofounder Binny Bansal, Zerodha cofounder Nikhil Kamath, Swiggy cofounder Sriharsha Majety, Urban Company’s cofounder and chief executive Abhiraj Singh Bhal and Tracxn cofounder Abhishek Goyal.

Additionally, cofounder and operating chief of LivSpace Ramakant Sharma, Udaan cofounder Sujeet Kumar, elder council member at Kratos Gaming Manish Agarwal and Polygon founder Sandeep Nailwal also joined the cap table.

The company is looking to deploy the newly raised capital into growing its operations, setting up a research and development centre, expanding workforce, while also launching its flying prototype.

The prototype is expected to be unveiled on Friday (January 17), at the Bharat Mobility Global Expo 2025, Delhi NCR.

Founded in October 2023 by Rakesh Gaonkar, Shivam Chauhan, and Adrian Schmidt, Sarla Aviation is working to make flying taxis a part of reality. The company, as featured in Inc42’s 30 Startups To Watch In October 2024, aims for its first commercial flight by 2028, the founders see their service as a cleaner, quieter, and more affordable alternative to traditional helicopter taxis.

“We plan to launch a free-of-cost air ambulance service, addressing the urgent need for rapid medical response and saving countless lives by eliminating traffic-related delays. By prioritizing simplicity and affordability, we aim to create a scalable solution that meets the needs of tomorrow’s Viksit Bharat and fuels the country’s ambition to become a global superpower,” Schmidt, cofounder and chief executive of Sarla Aviation said.

This development comes at a time when sustainable air mobility has gained significant attention from investors and commercial airline companies to back startups.

For instance, The ePlane Company bagged $14 Mn in its Series B funding round to obtain global regulatory certifications and advance its commercialisation plans, while also a part of the funds was poured into developing and certifying its manned aircraft, in November last year.

Prior to that, airline major Indigo received the market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India’s (SEBI) nod to float its venture capital (VC) arm IndiGo Ventures to invest in startups by the end of the financial year 2024-25 (FY25). 

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