Sarla Aviation, a Bengaluru-based startup, has secured $10 million in funding from Accel and several prominent investors, including Flipkart co-founder Binny Bansal, Zerodha co-founder Nikhil Kamath, and Swiggy co-founder Sriharsha Majety. The funding will help Sarla Aviation take its electric air taxi plans to the next level, aiming to solve the problem of heavy traffic in India’s crowded cities.
Founded in January 2024, Sarla Aviation is named after Sarla Thukral, India’s first female pilot. The company is working on electric flying taxis that can carry six passengers and a pilot, focusing on short-distance routes. While most air taxi companies prioritize longer ranges, Sarla Aviation is designing vehicles that can carry more weight, even if it means a shorter range of 160 kilometers (99 miles) per charge.
“In India, a shorter range works fine as long as the service is affordable,” said Adrian Schmidt, Sarla Aviation’s co-founder and CEO. “We want to achieve this by offering a higher payload capacity.”
The company plans to use the new funding to build a research and development center in Bengaluru, grow its team from 30 to over 100 people, and create advanced prototypes to refine its technology. Sarla Aviation also wants to ensure that most of its supply chain is based in India, making it cost-effective and scalable.
Adrian Schmidt, who previously worked at companies like Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen, and German air taxi startup Lilium, co-founded Sarla Aviation with Rakesh Gaonkar and Shivam Chauhan. The three entrepreneurs decided to bring their expertise to India, seeing it as a huge market for air taxis due to its high population, traffic problems, and growing economy. “India’s unique position and challenges made it the perfect place to launch our vision,” said Schmidt.
Sarla Aviation’s first prototype, called Shunya (which means “zero” in Hindi), will be showcased at an event in New Delhi on January 17. Testing is expected to begin later this year, and the company plans to launch its first commercial air taxis by 2028. These flying taxis will initially focus on airport transfers in cities like Bengaluru, Mumbai, Delhi, and Pune. The startup also plans to offer a free air ambulance service alongside its commercial ride-sharing operations.
Sarla Aviation aims to make flying affordable. Initially, the cost of a ride will be similar to a premium Uber or Ola trip, but the company plans to reduce prices over time to match what people usually pay for an auto-rickshaw ride.
The company faces competition from both local and global players. Archer Aviation, which partnered with InterGlobe Enterprises in 2023, and Chennai-based ePlane, which recently raised $14 million, are both working on launching air taxis in India. However, Sarla Aviation believes its focus on affordability, heavier payloads, and India-specific needs gives it an edge. “We are designing solutions that work directly in real-world scenarios,” Schmidt explained.
Accel’s investment reflects confidence in Sarla Aviation’s ability to shake up the transportation sector in India. By using cutting-edge technology and tailoring its services to local needs, Sarla Aviation is set to redefine how people travel in cities, offering faster, more affordable, and eco-friendly options. With plans to start commercial operations in 2028, the company is paving the way for a new era of urban mobility.
