Aerospace startup Sarla Aviation will launch electric air taxis in Mumbai and Delhi a couple of months after starting operating in Bengaluru, its CEO and co-founder Adrian Schmidt said.
Talking to FE on the sidelines of Startup Mahakumbh, Schmidt added that within five years of the launch, they would aim to provide the services to ‘every corner’ of the country.
The company had unveiled the prototype of the air taxi, Shunya, at the Bharat Mobility Global Expo earlier this year.
Sarla Aviation is aiming to launch its services in the country in 2028 and is expanding its team rapidly. From 20 employees in January, it has expanded its team to 47 people.
By the end of the year, it aims to have around 80-120 employees, Schmidt said. They had last year partnered with the Bengaluru international airport to facilitate the launch of a flying taxi service.
The company has raised $10 million in Series A funding round, led by Accel, with participation from Flipkart’s Binny Bansal, Nikhil Kamath, and Swiggy’s Sriharsha Majety, among other angel investors.
Schmidt said that they are currently “well-capitalised”. “We are not in desperate need to raise anytime soon,” he said.
Schmidt also said that the company’s core aim is to be a manufacturing firm and not only a service company.
They would be open to supplying electric aircraft to other companies.
The company currently aims to set up the full value chain of EV air taxis in India. However, it may import some parts to meet the timeline of their launch.
“There are certain components which I don’t think would be available by 2028. But we will try to manufacture as many components as we can here,” he said.
Sarla Aviation has also expressed its plans to launch a free air ambulance service.
The Centre has been laying the groundwork to introduce air taxis by 2026. In September last year, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation issued guidelines for obtaining airworthiness certification for electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft.
Domestic airline IndiGo has also placed an order for up to 200 air taxis with another aerospace firm, California-based Archer. Archer Aviation plans to launch its e-VTOL, “Midnight,” in 2026.