BluJ Aero, a regional aviation startup, has acquired USD 2.25 million in seed funding to develop a hybrid-electric VTOL aircraft powered by Hydrogen Fuel cell technology. Endiya Partners and Ideaspring Capital are leading the investment round, with Rainmatter Foundation also participating. BluJ intends to shorten travel time between destinations by at least three times when compared to the fastest alternatives available now.

This round of funding will aid BluJ in the development of its first commercial product, a completely autonomous cargo e-VTOL aircraft with a payload of more than 100 kgs and long-range capability due to its Hydrogen-electric powertrain.

BluJ was founded in May 2022 by CEO Maruthi Amardeep Sri Vatsavaya, a University of Cincinnati graduate who previously served as Engineering Director at Skyroot Aerospace, and CTO Utham Kumar Dharmapuri, who was an engineering lead at Boeing. BluJ’s core team brings together 100+ years of deep domain expertise with members having previously worked for Boeing, GE, ISRO, Siemens and Collins Aerospace.

“Road freight transport is a significant contributor to carbon emissions whose reduction is a significant piece of the decarbonization puzzle. BluJ is taking an interesting approach to the problem by working on Hydrogen powered electric aircraft. Given the enormity of the challenge, we are excited to join them in this journey”, said Dinesh Pai of Rainmatter.