Sarla Aviation, an aerospace startup determined to develop electric aircraft for use as flying taxis, has secured $10 million from the most recognized venture capital firm, Accel, with the participation of other top-notch angel investors. The startup aims to launch the flying taxi by 2028 in the Indian market with affordability and sustainability. Let’s explore how the future will be with flying taxis.
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Sarla Aviation lands $10 mn funding from Accel, with other angel investors.
Sarla Aviation, a startup that is obsessed with building electric aircraft to be used as flying taxis, has bagged a $10 million investment from venture capital firm Accel, with the involvement of other angel investors including Flipkart co-founder Binny Bansal, Zerodha co-founder Nikhil Kamath, Swiggy co-founder Sriharsha Majety,
Five other prominent founders include Abhiraj Singh Bhal (Urban Company), Abhishek Goyal (Tracxn), Ramakant Sharma (LivSpace), Sujeet Kumar (Udaan), Manish Agarwal (Kratos), and Sandeep Nailwal (Polygon). This investment from the most renowned firm and prominent founders indicated a green signal to Sarla Aviation toward the ‘flying taxi’ project.
Sarla Aviation’s visions and plans regarding flying taxis.
Sarla Aviation, founded in 2024 by Adrian Schmidt, Rakesh Gaonkar, and Shivam Chauhan, envisions a future where Indians can bypass the road bounds as the Urban landscape develops, and traffic crowds worsen in Indian cities, and could live, work, and thrive without worrying about traffic problems.
These three founders’ teams combine years of powerful experience from the leading global eVTOL (electric vehicle take-off and landing) players. They aim to set a new stage in urban mobility by concentrating their global expertise on local insights.
Sarla’s hybrid-lift-and-cruise eVTOL offers the capacity to carry up to 680kg, the highest weight-lifting capacity in the market. Compared to Western competitors, Sarla Aviation’s taxi offers 35% more passenger capacity at a four-fold lower ticket price. According to the company, this innovation makes Sarla’s taxis affordable, practical, and efficient in mobility.
Pratik Agarwal, Principal at Accel, said, “Sarla Aviation’s vision of affordable flying taxis addresses critical urban challenges like traffic congestion, pollution, and the need for rapid medical response.”
“Adrian, Rakesh, and Shivam are exactly the type of founders who can bring this vision to life. Backed by experience from leading global eVTOL companies and a world-class team, they have the right mix of bold vision and execution ability to help this idea ‘take off’ practically,” said Agarwal. “Their emphasis on cost economics and reliability could make them a blueprint for other rapidly urbanizing regions worldwide,” Pratik Agarwal added.
Sarla Aviation’s founders and promises about flying taxis.
According to the Business Standart Report, “This funding is a significant milestone for Sarla Aviation as we advance our mission to revolutionize transportation in India,” said Adrian Schmidt, Co-Founder and CEO of Sarla Aviation. “Our flying taxis are not just about enabling instant and affordable air mobility—they represent a bold step toward unlocking India’s true economic potential and solving critical bottlenecks like traffic congestion and pollution. With the support of our investors, we are accelerating the development of our technology, expanding our team, and establishing a state-of-the-art R&D center. Our priority is to build a mass mobility system that serves and enables India like cars once transformed and enabled by the United States.”
“By prioritizing simplicity and affordability, we aim to create a scalable solution that meets the needs of tomorrow’s Viksit Bharat and fuels the country’s ambition to become a global superpower,” Schmidt added.
Schmidt also envisions to build free of cost air ambulance services for medical emergencies and saving countless lives by removing traffic delays aside.
According to Business Standard, Sarla Aviation is targeted to its first flying taxi prototype on January 17, 2025, at the Bharat Mobility Expo in New Delhi. The company is also ready to initiate its test-flying campaign and accelerate the creation of additional prototypes, with the aim to launch in the market by 2008.
Rise of Flying taxis and the world with flying taxis.
As China most often pops up as a leading player when it comes to innovation and evolution in technologies, Drone manufacturer EHang gained approval for its flying taxi from the Civil Aviation Authority of China last year. It has now taken 100 orders and is working to build the pilot-less version.
As the world’s top countries are leaning toward this technology, the world will see flying taxis in the air very soon. These taxis will significantly solve the traffic problems as urbanization accelerates and traffic crowds worsen in the cities. Even ambulance services can be provided for emergencies and can save countless lives which are caused due to traffic reasons.
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