Bengaluru-based startup Bumble Bee Flights is planning to set up an air taxi assembly plant in Odisha. And the first prototype of the air taxi to transport humans is scheduled to be launched in April 2023, while the production of air taxis will commence from 2024.
The company has recently raised Rs 300 crore ($37 million) from the UK-based tech company SRAM & MRAM Technologies and Resources Ltd. The funds are received during the investment conclave Make in Odisha Conclave 2022.
Bumble Bee Flights was founded in early 2022 by the Odisha based serial entrepreneur and Air Mobility Solutions expert Arjun Das. The company will manufacture air taxis under the brand Bee Flights. These air taxis would operate on solar-charged swappable batteries. They can carry capacity beyond 1,000 kg and weighed at 300 kg. Bumble Bee Flights will design and manufacture these air taxis and partner with operators globally to service, support, and run the operations. The company’s first step would be to obtain certification for its operations in India, the United States, the United Kingdom, the United Arab Emirates, and Singapore.
These air taxis would operate on solar-charged swappable batteries. In comparison to helicopters that weigh 1,000 kg or more, the Bumble Bee air taxi (Bee1) would weigh around 300 kg.
eVTOL, or electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft, are the future of urban mobility and transport. Bumble Bee air taxis are autonomous and would ease the already burdened urban road infrastructure while working towards reducing carbon footprints.
Arjun Das, Founder Bumble Bee Flights
