Alteon raises $2.5m to develop autonomous aircraft for year-long flight
The Bengaluru-based company secured pre-seed funding to build wind-harvesting drones for continuous maritime surveillance, highlighting global investor confidence in high-risk aerospace deep tech.
Bengaluru-based Alteon has secured $2.5 million in pre-seed funding to develop autonomous aircraft capable of remaining airborne for over a year. The round was led by prominent solo investor Lachy Groom, with participation from Together Fund. Groom committed to the investment within thirty minutes of his initial meeting with founder Samay Sanghvi.
The startup is attempting to bypass traditional fuel and battery limitations through dynamic soaring. This technique, modeled on albatross flight, extracts energy from wind shear above the ocean by repeatedly moving between air layers traveling at different speeds. For global markets, including Europe’s extensive coastal and maritime sectors, the technology offers a new approach to how governments conduct real-time ocean surveillance.
“Once you build airplanes that can stay in the air for more than a year, there are millions of things you can do with them,” Sanghvi said. The initial application targets maritime surveillance, providing governments with continuous visibility into their territorial waters. The company plans to eventually use the aircraft's propellers as turbines to convert wind energy into electricity and recharge onboard batteries.
Alteon has not yet proven it can sustain flight purely on harvested energy, but it has made tangible progress. During a recent test over the Bay of Bengal, the aircraft completed seven O-shaped cycles at speeds exceeding 62 miles per hour while flying within one meter of the water. The next critical milestone is achieving energy-neutral dynamic soaring, allowing continuous flight with propulsion switched off.
Industry experts note that while the underlying physics are established, real-world execution remains highly complex. Dr. Gabriel Bousquet, an aerospace engineer who researched dynamic soaring at MIT, called the low-altitude test a promising first result but warned of significant hurdles. The aircraft must navigate turbulence, waves, spray, and changing light conditions while continuously reacting to a moving ocean surface.
Dr. Bharath Swaminathan, who studied the stability of dynamic soaring at IIT Madras, agreed that local wind shear and turbulence could complicate continuous energy extraction. He noted that keeping an aircraft airborne for several days would represent a major achievement, though some operational challenges will likely only surface during extensive real-world testing.
Groom acknowledged the technical risks inherent in the bet. “Ambitious problems are always going to come with risks,” he said. “For me, it came down to believing Samay and the Alteon team are the ones to figure them out.” Sanghvi began developing the technology in 2023, formally founding Alteon in 2025 with early backing from Emergent Ventures and 1517.
The company now operates from a 10,000-square-foot facility in Bengaluru with a team of 20. It is currently manufacturing four to five aircraft weekly and has completed more than 200 test flights over the past month to refine its autonomous systems.
