Bumble Bee Flights has raised Rs 300 crore ($37 million) in investment from UK-based technology conglomerate SRAM & MRAM Technologies and Resources Limited. The Bengaluru-based start-up claimed to be the first entity to design and develop India’s first autonomous Air Mobility Solution capable of human transportation with multiple use case scenarios such as air ambulance, air taxi, logistics, recreational use, defense applications, etc.

Founded by serial entrepreneur and air mobility solutions expert Arjun Das in early 2022, the company will use the funds to set up an assembly plant in Odisha for manufacturing air taxis under the Bee Flights brand. 

It plans to launch the first prototype of these vehicles by April 2023, while the certified models will be available for production by 2024. 

Talking about the investment, Das, founder of Bumble Bee Flights, said, “Electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft are the future of urban mobility and transport. These autonomous air taxis would not only ease the already burdened urban road infrastructure but also will work towards reducing carbon footprints.” 

He added that Bumble Bee Flights will design and manufacture its air taxis by partnering with operators across the globe to service, support and run the operations. The first step would be obtaining a certification to operate in for the US, UK, UAE, India and Singapore. 

Arjun revealed that Bee1 is the first Air Taxi from India that will be certified in multiple countries and is intended for multiple use. These include human transportation, air ambulance, air taxi and the logistics and supply chain sectors. 

Bee Flights air taxis would run on solar-charged swappable batteries and weigh around 300 kgs compared to traditional helicopters weighing over 1000 kgs. It can carry one person with a suitcase and land on the rooftop of apartment complexes, unlike helicopters that need specific helipads. 

These air taxis can fly for 20 minutes for a distance of 20 km and “booking it would be as easy as booking a Taxi from Ola or Uber,” Arjun quipped. 

He added that these self-driven air taxis would become a regular feature in the world by 2035 when about 10 per cent of the transportation would be managed and controlled by these flying vehicles. It will streamline daily commuting, saving millions of driving hours and reducing pollution drastically. 

Morgan Stanley predicted that the global urban air mobility market will grow 30 per cent annually between 2021 and 2040, reaching $1.5 trillion by 2040.

“We are committed to the Make in India movement and today we are announcing our investment of Rs 300 crores to Bee Flights to build the future. We share a common vision of the importance of a sustainable future using Electric Air Mobility Systems. We are proud to be a part of this common future vision,” said Gurujee Kumaran Swami, vice chairman of SRAM & MRAM Technologies and Resources Limited.