Airbound, an autonomous delivery logistics company developing blended-wing-body (BWB) aircraft for efficient cargo transport, has raised $8.65 million in seed funding and announced a pilot partnership with Narayana Health. The round was led by Lachy Groom, co-founder of Physical Intelligence, with participation from Humba Ventures and continued support from Lightspeed. The funding also includes contributions from senior leaders at Tesla, SpaceX, and Anduril.
The funding will enable Airbound to accelerate its mission of reducing delivery costs to near zero, making geographic distance irrelevant to the movement of essential goods. Founded by Naman Pushp, the company has developed a proprietary carbon fiber manufacturing process that allows rapid production of aircraft, with new units now rolling off the line daily.
Airbound’s flagship vehicle features a blended-wing-body configuration combined with a vertical lift tail-sitter design, offering a payload-to-aircraft mass ratio of 1 kilogram to 1.5 kilograms. This unique design enables vertical takeoff and landing while maintaining the aerodynamic efficiency of fixed-wing flight. This achievement eliminates the trade-offs associated with tilt-rotor and quadplane models.
The company’s technology aims to transform logistics by drastically lowering the cost and complexity of delivery infrastructure. Its initial market focus is healthcare, an industry that demands high reliability, safety, and efficiency. And the newly announced partnership with Narayana Health, one of India’s largest hospital networks, will serve as a proof of concept for Airbound’s aircraft in critical medical logistics. Over a three-month pilot program, Airbound will conduct up to ten daily deliveries of blood samples, medical tests, and other time-sensitive materials.
This collaboration not only provides Airbound with real-world testing in a regulated environment but also strengthens its credibility as a partner in high-stakes delivery applications. Narayana Health’s extensive network offers a valuable proving ground for the company’s drones to demonstrate their reliability and scalability.
Following a previous funding round in November, Airbound has now secured over $10 million in total investment. The latest capital infusion will support the expansion of its manufacturing capabilities and operational scaling beyond medical delivery, with plans to extend into broader logistics markets by 2026.
Based in the US, Airbound’s mission is to make delivery costs so low that distance ceases to be a barrier to access. Its ultra-lightweight, carbon fiber aircraft deliver goods with efficiency levels up to 20 times greater than conventional logistics systems and significantly outperform current drone competitors on a per-kilogram basis.
KEY QUOTES:
“We are grateful to our incoming and current investors for supporting our vision to make the cost of delivery negligible. 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 the cost advantages that will make our service accessible globally.”
Naman Pushp, Founder and CEO, Airbound
“Airbound’s approach to drone delivery 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 for a wide range of applications.”
Lachy Groom, Co-founder, Physical Intelligence
“At Narayana Health, we are constantly exploring innovative solutions to enhance patient care and operational efficiency. Our partnership with Airbound allows us to pilot a promising technology that could significantly improve the speed and reliability of medical deliveries. 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.”
Dr. Devi Shetty, Founder and Chairman, Narayana Health
