Lithuanian startup secures €825K for tactical aircraft development

Lithuanian aerospace startup Airvolve has raised €825,000 in early-stage funding from Coinvest Capital, Baltic Sandbox Ventures, and several business angels. With €510,000 coming from Coinvest Capital, the funds will be used to develop a tactical transport aircraft designed for defense and commercial missions, including autonomous cargo delivery and casualty evacuation. The aircraft features a horizontal-axis propulsion system aimed at reducing operating costs compared to conventional helicopters. Airvolve plans to use this investment to complete a working prototype, with pre-orders anticipated by the end of 2025.

Airvolve, a Lithuanian aerospace startup, is developing an innovative tactical transport aircraft designed to improve efficiency and reduce costs compared to traditional helicopters. The aircraft features a horizontal-axis propulsion system and is intended for various missions, including autonomous cargo delivery, search and rescue, and casualty evacuation.

“We are a deep-tech, dual-use aeronautics company currently focused on innovative logistics solutions. The company’s heavy-lift aerial vehicle is projected to be 10 times cheaper to operate than a conventional helicopter. Its unique horizontal-axis propulsion system enables large-volume payload airlift within a 60 km radius. The project is well advanced, we have already invested significant time and effort into the aircraft’s development. We are very grateful to our investors for their trust—this funding will allow us to accelerate our progress even further,” said Donatas Gendvilas, co-founder and CEO of Airvolve.

The Airvolve‘s founding team includes talents from NASA and Ryanair Engineering. The aircraft prototype, which took off in May 2024, is the result of two years of R&D, and an investment of over €2 million.

“The technologies being developed by Airvolve can be described as truly revolutionary, inspiring a sense of pride in our country’s innovators and offering a significant competitive advantage in the global aeronautics market. Furthermore, I believe the project team’s vision is exceptionally timely, aligning with the rising wave of autonomous systems and innovations in the transport and defense industries, and therefore holds tremendous potential,” said Viktorija Trimbel, Managing Director of Coinvest Capital.

“We see great potential in this team and their game-changing VTOL (vertical take-off and landing) technology, which enables both defense and commercial applications,” commented Sandra Golbreich, General Partner at Baltic Sandbox Ventures.

“I’m very excited to be leading this latest Lithuanian venture investment into Airvolve, a solid team building mission-critical tech that revolutionizes aviation mobility by innovative propulsion systems used in various applications ranging from airborne search and rescue to medvac missions and aerial logistics,” said Rita Sakus, a representative of business angels.

The transaction between the investors and Airvolve was advised by the legal teams of TGS Baltic, FORT Legal, and Unicorn Legals.

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