Founded in 2020, the startup has created a drone, called TRT, that can travel long distances and carry up to 1.5 kg of payload. It uses existing infrastructure like terraces and does not require additional infrastructure like warehouses and drone airports. The startup aims to transform logistics with its proprietary technology and cut delivery costs by a factor of two.
Airbound will use the seed funds to deploy its R&D efforts and venture into medical deliveries, specifically routine deliveries such as transporting blood samples from health centres to testing labs, founder Naman Push told ET. The startup plans to go live with its product in early 2025.
“One big challenge is that drone delivery is still really expensive. And there is still a lot of structural inefficiencies in drones. So, if we’re able to strategically address these inefficiencies, we can create a world where you can have deliveries be almost a hundred times cheaper than they are today,” Push said.
He also said quick commerce is one of the sectors where drones present a lot of opportunities, especially in tier-II and tier-III cities.
Drone regulation in India has been challenging for startups operating in this space. The Drone Regulations 2021 (amended in 2022) govern the use of drones, or unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). For instance, all drones must be registered and given a Unique Identification Number (UIN), and they must be in the direct visual line of sight of pilots at all times.
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Pushp said there’s no clear regulation around drone delivery. “There is no proper framework around this, but after the 2021 rules, drones have become incredibly liberalised in India; it’s actually hard to find a country with a more liberal drone policy than India,” he said.“Drones are the future of deliveries and we are highly optimistic about the potential of this technology in revolutionising logistics. We are excited to partner with Naman, confident that their innovation will redefine delivery logistics,” Hemant Mohapatra of Lightspeed said in a statement.
