BluJ Aero, a Hyderabad-based aviation firm, has raised $ 2.25 million (Rs 18.45 crore) in a seed funding round co-led by Endiya Partners and Ideaspring Capital. Rainmatter Foundation also participated in the funding round.

As per the startup, the freshly raised funds will be used for the development of its first commercial fully autonomous cargo e-vertical take-off and landing (VTOL).

The startup will also use the freshly raised funds to hire talent, develop its manufacturing facilities and establish the testing infrastructure required to move toward certification.

BluJ Aero | Making Flying Simple and Sustainable

Founded by Maruthi Amardeep Sri Vatsavaya and Utham Kumar Dharmapuri in 2022, BluJ Aero is an aviation startup that designs and manufactures heavy payload and long-range VTOL aircraft powered by Hydrogen-Electric propulsion.

Its core team brings together 100+ years of deep domain expertise, with members having previously worked for Boeing, GE, ISRO, Siemens and Collins Aerospace. Maruthi Amardeep Sri Vatsavaya, a University of Cincinnati graduate, has previously served as Engineering Director at Skyroot Aerospace, and CTO Utham Kumar Dharmapuri was an engineering lead at Boeing.

Speaking about the development, Maruthi Amardeep Sri Vatsavaya, Co-founder & CEO of BluJ, said,

“We’re thrilled to have secured the seed funding and are excited to partner with Endiya, Ideaspring, and Rainmatter Foundation on our journey to revolutionize regional air transportation. We aim to achieve cost-efficiency and sustainability through vertical integration on all the key technologies involved.”

The Hyderabad-based aviation firm is working on cutting-edge Vertical Take-off and Landing (VTOL) technologies to significantly reduce travel time for cargo and humans by at least three times compared to the fastest alternatives today.

As per the startup, its proprietary hydrogen-electric e-VTOL aircraft is greener, more efficient and cost-friendly as compared to conventional air travel. The startup has received the SISF (Startup India Seed Fund) grant as well.

Commenting on the development, Dinesh Pai of Rainmatter said,

“Road freight transport is a significant contributor to carbon emissions whose reduction is a significant piece of the decarbonization puzzle. BluJ is taking an interesting approach to the problem by working on Hydrogen-powered electric aircraft. Given the enormity of the challenge, we are excited to join them in this journey.”

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