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Accel will continue Sarla Aviation’s ambition to develop electric taxis in India


Sarla Aviation was launched a year ago with asphalt for India’s busy roads. The launch of an electric taxi, named after India’s first woman pilot, Sarala Thukralthey would look at planes that can carry more weight – even if they are shorter.

“In India, a short route is good, as long as you can offer it at an attractive price. And that’s what we’re trying to achieve with this premium fare,” said Adrian Schmidt, co-founder and CEO of Sarla Aviation, in an interview.

It is the pitch that has arrived with investors. The founders said on Tuesday they raised $10 million in new funding led by Accel. All Series A1 rounds included angel investors such as Binny Bansal (co-founder of Flipkart), Nikhil Kamath (co-founder of Zerodha), and Sriharsha Majety (co-founder of Swiggy). The startup raised about $1.7 million in seed funding led by Accel and included participation from angels, including Tata Motors CTO Rajendra Petkar.

Sarla Aviation plans to use the funds to build an R&D facility in Bengaluru, expand its team three to four times beyond its existing capacity of 30, and develop new prototypes for data acquisition and validation.

Unlike most flying taxi concepts that seat two or four people, the startup in Bengaluru is looking at a vehicle that can carry six people and a driver weighing up to 680 kilograms (1,500 pounds). Increasing the charge reduces the range to 160 kilometers (99 miles) per battery. In contrast, the concept of a flying taxi varies between 120 and 160 miles.

Schmidt, a German national, re-founded Sarla Aviation in January 2024 with longtime partner Rakesh Gaonkar and software engineer Shivam Chauhan after spending several years at Lilium. The Munich-based outfit had been developing eVTOL aircraft for more than 10 years, but after raising more than $1 billion and going public, it said. closed its operations last year to be silent to be resurrected soon with a consortium of investors. Schmidt also worked at automotive companies including Mercedes-Benz and Volkswagen before joining Lilium in 2020.

In mid-2023, Schmidt and Gaonkar left Germany and came to Bengaluru to set up Sarla Aviation after seeing India as a potential market for their aviation industry. Chauhan, who had returned to India after a stint in the US, joined them, and the trio joined the starting line-up in January 2024.

Schmidt told TechCrunch that India’s climate, which he believes will “play a major role in the energy revolution,” prompted him to begin his work in the country.

Sarla Aviation co-founders Shivam Chauhan, Rakesh Gaonkar, and Adrian Schmidt (left to right)Image credit:Sarla Aviation

The one-year-old startup is set to unveil its first taxi model, called Shunya (zero in Hindi), at an industry event in New Delhi on January 17. The company will begin testing prototypes later this year and plans to launch the first commercial taxi sometime in 2028.

Schmidt said Sarla Aviation will begin its commercial operations moving to the airport in Bengaluru, which is one of the most populous cities in the world, and gradually to Mumbai, Delhi, and Pune. They are also planning to launch a free air ambulance service similar to business sharing services in its first phase.

Sarla Aviation’s air ticket will be similar to a top-line Uber or Ola cab, which will come down to the higher fares Indian passengers often pay for rickshaws over time, the official said.

The startup relies on a third party to build its prototypes. Schmidt, however, told TechCrunch that his goal is to have 80% of all of his products native by the time the product launches.

Sarla Aviation will compete for more money Archer Aviationwhich partnered with InterGlobe Enterprises in 2023, and in the Airplanewhich raised $14 million in November at a cost of $46 million. Both of them want to launch flying taxis in India next year.



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