Bengaluru-based aerospace startup Alteon has raised $2.5 million in a pre-seed funding round led by investor Lachy Groom, with participation from Together Fund. Founder Samay Sanghvi also disclosed Together investor Shubham Gupta’s participation in the financing.
Founded by Sanghvi, Alteon is developing autonomous fixed-wing aircraft designed for ultra-long-duration flight. Its aircraft use dynamic soaring, a technique that involves moving between layers of air travelling at different speeds to extract energy from wind gradients over the ocean. Alteon’s website says its aircraft are being engineered to remain airborne for more than a year.
The startup recently tested its autonomous flight system over the Bay of Bengal, where an aircraft completed seven consecutive looping cycles at speeds above 100 kilometres per hour while flying within one metre of the water’s surface. Alteon’s next technical objective is energy-neutral dynamic soaring, where the aircraft would extract sufficient energy from wind to maintain flight without propulsion. The company has not yet demonstrated sustained flight powered solely through dynamic soaring.
Alteon plans to use the financing to continue developing and testing its autonomous aircraft. The company is initially targeting applications such as persistent maritime surveillance, where extended airborne endurance could provide continuous observation over ocean areas.
