Radical, a Seattle-based aerospace startup, recently announced that it has secured $4.5 million in seed funding to support the development of solar-powered, autonomous airplanes. The funding round was led by Scout Ventures and included investments from other investors such as Inflection Mercury Fund and Y Combinator. Radical was founded by CEO James Thomas and CTO Cyriel Notteboom, who are both veterans of Amazon’s Prime Air program. The company is focused on building aircraft that can fly continuously in the stratosphere carrying payloads for various applications including imaging, remote sensing, and telecommunications.
The investment will be used to expand Radical’s team, which currently consists of four people. Thomas stated that the company is rapidly growing and is in the process of hiring new team members. Radical’s mission is to develop autonomous, solar-powered, propeller-driven aircraft that can remain airborne in the stratosphere without the need for landing. The aircraft could potentially stay airborne for up to a year, opening up possibilities for persistent airborne infrastructure. A key milestone for Radical was achieved when a small prototype aircraft flew nonstop for over 24 hours during a test flight near Seattle last October.
With the additional funding, Radical plans to focus on building and testing a full-scale aircraft with a projected wingspan of 110 feet and the ability to fly as high as 70,000 feet. The company is currently building the aircraft at its base in Seattle’s Ballard neighborhood, with a focus on design, prototyping, and development. The long-duration flights in the stratosphere have the potential for various commercial and government applications including real-time monitoring, imaging, mapping, and providing cellular and broadband internet access. The zero carbon emissions from solar-powered flights make them an environmentally friendly solution.
Radical’s vision for high-altitude, solar-powered aircraft is similar to Facebook’s Aquila project, which aimed to provide internet access to remote areas using drones. Although Facebook’s project faced technical challenges and was ultimately discontinued in 2018, Radical believes they can learn from previous work in autonomous flight. The Radical team consists of experienced individuals from programs like Amazon Prime Air, with the intention to apply their knowledge to address customer needs. The team includes professionals with experience at Amazon, SpaceX, and Zipline, bringing a unique skill set to the development of Radical’s aircraft.
The development of Radical’s aircraft is focused on proving key aspects of the system at subscale before moving on to full-scale testing. The company plans to have the full-scale aircraft flying within the next 12 months. The potential for long-duration flights in the stratosphere offers a wide range of opportunities for various industries and sectors. Thomas emphasized the importance of the team in driving Radical’s success and stated that their experience at Amazon has been instrumental in shaping the company’s approach to addressing customer needs. Radical is poised to make significant advancements in the field of solar-powered autonomous aircraft, with the potential to revolutionize long-duration, high-altitude flights.
