Alteon raises $2.5M pre-seed to develop aircraft capable of year-long flight

Funding for Long-Endurance Aircraft

Alteon, a Bengaluru-based startup, announced it has raised $2.5 million in a pre-seed funding round. The investment was led by solo investor Lachy Groom, with additional participation from Together Fund. This capital will support the development of autonomous aircraft designed for extended flight durations.

Dynamic Soaring Technology

The core of Alteon's technology involves designing small, fixed-wing autonomous aircraft that can extract energy from wind shear above the ocean. This technique, known as dynamic soaring, mimics how albatrosses utilize varying wind speeds to sustain flight. The goal is to enable aircraft to remain airborne for more than a year without needing to carry large amounts of fuel or battery power.

Initial Applications and Design

Alteon plans to initially deploy these aircraft for maritime surveillance, offering governments real-time visibility over their waters. The first aircraft design will feature a three-meter wingspan, flying close to the ocean's surface and repeatedly climbing into faster air layers to gain energy. Future plans include using propellers as turbines to convert harvested energy into electricity for onboard battery recharging.

Testing and Future Milestones

While the startup has not yet demonstrated sustained flight using harvested energy, it recently completed a test of its autonomous flight system over the Bay of Bengal. During this test, the aircraft autonomously completed seven O-shaped cycles at over 62 miles per hour, flying within one meter of the water's surface. The next significant milestone for Alteon is to achieve "energy-neutral dynamic soaring," allowing continuous flight with propulsion off, solely powered by wind energy.