Sarla Aviation launched a year ago with a pitch made for India’s congested streets. The electric air taxi startup, named after India’s first female pilot, Sarala Thukralfocus on aircraft that can carry more weight – even if that means shorter ranges.

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

It’s a pitch that reaches investors. The startup said Tuesday it has raised $10 million in a new round of funding led by Accel. The all-equity Series A1 round included angel investors such as Binny Bansal (Flipkart co-founder), Nikhil Kamath (Zerodha co-founder), and Sriharsha Majety (Swiggy co-founder). The startup previously raised a seed round of around $1.7 million led by Accel and included participation from angels, including Tata Motors CTO Rajendra Petkar.

Sarla Aviation plans to use the funds to set up an R&D center in Bengaluru, scale its team three or four times larger than its current headcount of 30, and create new prototypes to get better data and validate it.

Unlike most flying taxi concepts that have two to four passenger capacity, the Bengaluru-based startup envisions a vehicle that carries six passengers and a pilot that weighs 680 kilograms. (1,500 pounds). Increasing the payload reduces the range to 160 kilometers (99 miles) per battery charge. In contrast, a typical flying taxi concept offers a range of between 120 and 160 miles.

Schmidt, a German citizen, founded Sarla Aviation in January 2024 with long-time partner Rakesh Gaonkar and software engineer Shivam Chauhan after spending several years at Lilium. The Munich-based outfit has been building regional electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft for more than a decade but after raising more than $1 billion and going public, it stopped its operation last year to be RAISED shortly after a consortium of investors. Schmidt also previously worked at automotive companies including Mercedes-Benz and Volkswagen before joining Lilium in 2020.

In mid-2023, Schmidt and Gaonkar left Germany and went to Bengaluru to set up Sarla Aviation after seeing India as a potential market for their flying taxi venture. Chauhan, who had returned to India after spending time in the US, joined them, and the trio joined starting in January 2024.

Schmidt told TechCrunch that India’s geopolitical position, which he believes will “play a big role in how energy transfers,” convinced him to start his business in the country.

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

Schmidt said Sarla Aviation will begin its commercial operations for transfers at Bengaluru airport, one of the world’s most populous cities, and will gradually operate in Mumbai, Delhi, and Pune. It also plans to launch a free air ambulance service similar to commercial sharing services in its first phase.

Sarla Aviation’s air taxi ticket will be the same price as the long line of an Uber or Ola cab, coming to the fare that Indian riders would typically pay for an auto-rickshaw over time, the executive said. saying.

The startup relies on a third-party supply chain for the production of its prototypes. Schmidt, however, told TechCrunch that it aims to have 80% of its supply chain fully indigenous by the time it begins commercial operations.

Sarla Aviation will compete with the well-funded Archer Aviationwhich partnered with InterGlobe Enterprises in 2023, and in the Airplanewhich raised $14 million in November at a $46 million valuation. Both intend to launch flying taxis in India next year.