Tesla-Backed Startup Aims for 1-Cent Drone Deliveries

Bengaluru-based drone firm raises $8.65 million in seed funding to pursue ultra-cheap delivery.

Jack Daleo

Wednesday, October 15, 2025 at 05:00 PM ET

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Jack Daleo

Airbound’s TRT drone features a blended-wing-body, tail-sitter configuration. [Courtesy: Airbound]

Key Takeaways:

Airbound, an Indian startup, secured over $8.5 million in seed funding from leaders at Tesla, SpaceX, and other tech firms to develop drone technology aiming for delivery costs as low as 1 cent.
The company's TRT drone features a unique blended-wing-body tail-sitter design with only two propellers, boasting high efficiency, a superior payload-to-mass ratio, and minimal infrastructure requirements to achieve ultra-low operational costs.
Airbound is currently piloting medical deliveries in India and plans for widespread adoption by 2026, targeting 1 million deliveries per day by mid-2027 and a future expansion into the U.S. market.

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Senior leaders of Tesla, SpaceX, Anduril, and AI firm Physical Intelligence are pouring money into an Indian startup that believes it can unlock drone deliveries for as little as 1 cent.

Airbound, which is developing a blended-wing-body (BWB) tail-sitter drone called the TRT, on Tuesday announced it raised more than $8.5 million in seed funding. The startup’s aim is to lower drone delivery costs to the point that geographic distance becomes “irrelevant,” it said in a news release.