Radical builds ultra-lightweight, solar-powered autonomous aircraft designed to loiter in the stratosphere for extended periods as persistent airborne infrastructure. Its demonstrator recently flew for 24 hours straight; the company plans a full-scale craft with about a 100-foot wingspan and a weight described as “as much as a person” (the article’s author interpreted that as ~100–200 pounds). Radical targets use cases such as continuous wildfire monitoring and flying 5G telecom stations where satellites or ground infrastructure are impractical. CEO James Thomas says supporting technologies — batteries, solar, and compute — have matured (batteries roughly double the capability of past projects like Aquila). The startup is Seattle-based, came through Y Combinator’s early 2023 batch, and is currently pre-revenue. Its near-term goal is to fly the full-size aircraft within the next 12 months and position the company to begin commercial work.

Total raised

$5M

Funding rounds

1

Latest round

Seed

Latest activity

Apr 2024