Airbound, a Bengaluru-based Indian startup specializing in autonomous drone delivery, has secured $37 million in a Series A funding round led by Greenoaks, with participation from DoorDash, Lachy Groom, Lightspeed, and Humba Ventures. This fresh capital brings Airbound’s total funding to nearly $50 million since its founding in 2023. The company is developing ultra-lightweight, vertical takeoff and landing drones with a unique rocket-like tail-sitter design aimed at making aerial goods transportation as cost-effective as traditional trucking.

The startup’s current drone, called TRT, weighs about 3.3 pounds and carries around 2.2 pounds, with a next-generation model in development expected to carry up to 11 pounds with a 6.6-pound weight. Airbound’s innovation focuses on reducing the energy wasted on carrying the drone’s own weight during flight, thereby improving efficiency for smaller loads. The vertical takeoff and landing capability allows drones to operate without runways, boosting their versatility compared to conventional aircraft.

Airbound has already completed more than 13,000 autonomous flights in two southern Indian cities and operates a key partnership with Narayana Health, flying diagnostic samples between hospitals in just seven minutes—much faster than road transport. The company plans to expand this healthcare service to new hospital locations relying on drone deliveries instead of on-site labs and blood banks. Looking ahead, Airbound aims to build a drone delivery network connecting three cities in Andhra Pradesh with a target of 10,000 flights daily for retail, e-commerce, and healthcare, using between 250 and 1,000 drones.

Despite significant progress, Airbound faces regulatory hurdles, notably approvals for beyond visual line of sight operations essential for scaling drone deliveries. The startup remains pre-revenue with over 150 employees and stresses its long-term vision to become a major player in drone aircraft manufacturing rather than a delivery service operator. By focusing on building advanced drone technology, Airbound hopes to become the foundational “Boeing” of aerial logistics, supplying aircraft that other companies will use for drone delivery services.