Aviation Startups

Aviation and aerospace startups

Aviation and aerospace startups are young companies building new aircraft, propulsion, space and drone technology, and the services around them. Many in this section work on electric and hybrid-electric aircraft, eVTOL air taxis for urban air mobility, hydrogen propulsion, drones and autonomous flight, and the airspace management software that lets drones share the sky with crewed aircraft. Their customers and partners include airlines, investors, airports, city planners and regulators.

When assessing a startup as a partner, supplier or investment, look at how far its aircraft is through certification, whether it has flown a prototype, who backs it and which customers have signed orders or agreements.

There are 171 companies listed, most in the United States (114), the United Kingdom (10) and France (9), followed by Germany (7) and Canada (4). Examples include:

• Archer Aviation, developing aircraft for urban transport.
• Airspeeder, combining eVTOL aircraft with motorsport.
• AeroDelft, a Netherlands startup working on sustainable aviation.
• Alaka'i Technologies, founded in Honolulu in 2017.
• Altitude Angel, working in the drone sector.
• Atlas Sky Labs, building autonomous electric aerial powersport aircraft.

Established players sit in aircraft manufacturers and aircraft design and engineering, and many startups also appear under drone services. For recent progress in the eVTOL sector, read about the Vertical Aerospace eVTOL transition flight test and Joby Aviation's purchase of Blade's helicopter taxi business.